EXCLUSIVE: Trump says GOP will do much better than anyone thinks in midterms

By John Solomon and Buck Sexton

President Trump doubled down on his confidence about the midterm elections, saying in an exclusive interview with Hill.TV on Tuesday that he liked his party’s chances given the growing economy.

“I think we’re gonna do much better than anyone thinks because the economy is so good, and people do like the job I’m doing,” Trump, who has talked about the possibility of a “red wave” for the GOP this fall, told Hill.TV in the Oval Office interview.

Trump said his confidence is rooted in his experience from 2016, when he won the presidency against long odds.

Many political consultants and media pundits gave Trump little chance in the election, but he surprised everyone in winning the White House and the states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, none of which had been won by a GOP candidate in decades.

Trump also noted his triumph in a crowded GOP primary, which few in politics saw coming.

“I had just beaten 17 people, including the Bush dynasty. I then beat the Hillary Clinton dynasty. You can give me credit for Bernie Sanders and all, because I was — ’cause I was part of it, but you know. So, I beat the Bush dynasty, the Clinton dynasty, 17 people, and I never left center stage once, you can check. I never left center stage, meaning I had the lead in Republican primaries from day one,” he said.

Polls this year suggest the GOP is in trouble in the House and possibly the Senate. On the generic ballot, polls show Democrats with anywhere from a 7- to 14-point lead. The Cook Political Report lists dozens of GOP-held House seats as toss-ups or likely to fall to Democrats, compared to just a handful of Democratic seats that are up for grabs.

Trump made clear his closing argument to voters in the final weeks will be on the record of his administration.

“I think I’ve done more than any president in history. If you look at the things we have done, with the tax cuts, and all of the things that we’ve done, including, hopefully, now two Supreme Court justices,” he said.

Trump said his voters will come out this fall to help him, particularly given the “witch hunt” he said he faced on the Russian investigation.

“You know, they like the job, and to finish it off with just a little extra, when people say, you know, there’s a lot of action going on. I’m going through an illegal witch hunt.”

The “witch hunt,” of course, is Trump’s favorite term for the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 race, including any potential collusion with Trump’s campaign.