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Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump is “playing offense” with visits to blue states he believes he could win ahead of Election Day.
Trump is expected to visit New Mexico and Virginia alongside several swing states in a final campaign push.
“Donald Trump is playing offense right now. We are seeing numbers. We are seeing indicators that show us that those states may be in play,” Whatley said during an interview with NewsNation. “What we’re seeing right now in the battleground states is Donald Trump continuing to have small but durable leads.
“We feel that we’re in a great position, given the early votes and the absentee votes for him, to expect that we’re going to go into this Election Day with a great opportunity to win this thing,” he added.
Whatley contrasted Trump’s surge during the late campaigning with Vice President Kamala Harris and her “defensive” strategy.
“She’s playing defense in terms of her messaging; she’s playing defense in terms of her polling,” Whatley said. “She is playing defense, really, in terms of having to withdraw resources from states like North Carolina.”
Republican National Committee spokesperson Anna Kelley also shared the significance of the blue state visits in a statement to Fox News.
“As President Trump has said, he will be a president for all Americans, including those in traditionally blue states that Kamala Harris and the Democrats have left behind. Kamala Harris’ dangerously liberal policies have failed Americans across the country – from the Bronx, to Virginia, and New Mexico – which is why President Trump is bringing his America First message and vision for hardworking families right to their front door,” Kelly shared.
Trump’s upcoming live events include rallies in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Henderson, Nevada, on Thursday. Friday’s scheduled events include stops in Warren, Michigan, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Saturday includes three large events, including Salem, Virginia, along with Gastonia and Greensboro, North Carolina. A watch party is also scheduled in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, for Tuesday, according to the Trump campaign website.
Recent large-scale events in traditionally blue states include his massive rally in Coachella, California, where up to 100,000 people may have attended, along with his Sunday event in the historic Madison Square Garden, filled with a capacity crowd on Sunday.
