The Trump administration is in a midterm panic—and not even a nine-week-old baby can stay home.
With 29 days until the election, JD Vance is flying to Alaska on Monday to campaign for Republicans, taking Second Lady Usha Vance, their four-year-old daughter Mirabel and their baby son Alec along for the lengthy journey.
“This is Usha’s 50th state, which is why we are bringing a nine-week-old baby on a 7.5-hour flight to Alaska — so if I give a speech tonight and I look haggard and stressed out, that’s exactly why,” the vice president joked before boarding his flight.
The family road trip could help Vance project exactly the kind of image MAGA wants: a young, devoted father bringing his wife and children with him as he hits the campaign trail.
But the optics also underscore just how much is riding on the Republican effort to hold on to power in November.
Trump is barnstorming the country in seats that have traditionally been safe for the GOP.
His 32-stop tour began in Texas last week, where embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton is locked in a surprisingly tight race against Democrat James Talarico.
He also went to Alabama and Ohio, and will head to Grand Island in Nebraska later today: a state that he won by nearly 20 points in 2024.
“Just get out and vote,” Trump begged voters at his Ohio rally on Saturday.
“If you do that, we’re going to win, and we’re going to win big. And we’re going to shove it up their ass.”
The president is also offering what critics describe as “bribes for votes,” such a promise to every adult a $5000 dividend - provided Republicans win both the Senate and the House on November 3.
And in another contentious move, the 80-year-old also authorized millions of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded ads praising him and his presidency, which have run on cable networks as the race heats up.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Vance tried to justify the ads and claimed they were non-partisan. This is despite the fact that they feature imagery of the president and articles praising him, with one of the ads called “God Made Trump,” another recapping the UFC fight he hosted at the White House, and various visuals attacking Democrats.
“I don’t think there’s anything unusual or unorthodox about it,” Vance said, citing ads the Obama administration put out to promote the Affordable Care Act.
“I‘m sure that some people probably don’t like it, but if you look at the message of those advertisements, they’re not partisan. It’s not like we’re advocating for a particular candidate. We’re trying to tell a story, I think, about how great the United States of America is.”
Vance has become one of the party’s top surrogates as the campaign intensifies, and will head to Alaska on Monday to rally for Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who is locked in a surprisingly tight reelection battle with Democrat Mary Peltola.
Flipping the seat is key to the Democratic Party’s strategy to take control of the US Senate, and recent polls have Peltola, a former member of the US House of Representatives, leading her GOP opponent.
Amid voter concerns over the Iran war and high gasoline prices, the administration is also expected to announce $150 million in new funding to help construct 223 miles of new power lines in Alaska.
But while some observers praised the 42-year-old VP for taking his wife and young children to Alaska with him, others criticized the move.
“Nine-week old on a 7.5-hour flight so Usha can check a box. The baby didn’t consent to the itinerary,” quipped one observer on X.
