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A4 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 24 OctOber 2018
'Boogeyman' Trump stokes fears in election closing arguments

By CATHERINE LUCEY, ZEKE gress. enforcement and jus-
MILLER and JONATHAN Using racially charged tices. It's the themes and
LEMIRE language and sometimes policy points that will drive
Associated Press questionable information, people out," said former
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mob Trump argues that Demo- Trump campaign aide Sam
rule. A socialist takeover. crats will plunge the coun- Nunberg. "These are stark
Terrorists marching on the try into socialism, imperil choices. We have to pro-
U.S. border. the social safety net, raise vide stark choices."
As President Donald Trump taxes and welcome millions In a recent Associated
embraces the role of elec- of people pouring into the Press interview, Trump pro-
toral boogeyman, he's U.S illegally. jected confidence about
making closing arguments "At stake in this election is the upcoming elections,
to midterm voters that in- whether we continue the declaring: "It feels to me
creasingly resemble a Hal- extraordinary prosperity very much like '16," referring
loween horror story. that we've all achieved, or to his presidential win.
The candidate who won whether we let the radical At rallies and on Twitter
the White House in part by Democrat mob take a gi- in recent days, he has fo-
President Donald Trump speaks following a ceremony signing harnessing many Ameri- ant wrecking ball and de- cused on Central American
the "America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018" into law in the cans' anxieties is offering stroy our country and our migrants making their way
Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 23, dire warnings about what economy," Trump said at to the southern U.S. border.
2018. life would look like if Demo- a rally in Houston on Mon- The caravan is a "gift" to Re-
Associated Press crats gain control of Con- day night. He's warning of publicans, Trump believes.
Democratic "mob rule" and He's told confidants that it
predicting a stock market is the party's best closing
crash if Democrats retake argument heading into the
control on Capitol Hill. midterms, according to a
Trump's doomsday predic- Republican close to the
tions come as Republicans White House who spoke on
seek to counter months of condition of anonymity be-
rising Democratic enthu- cause the person was not
siasm. The GOP has seen authorized to publicly dis-
its own increase in en- cuss private conversations.
ergy since the politically Trump believes the images
charged confirmation of of the caravan that have
Supreme Court Justice Brett become a fixture on ca-
Kavanaugh. Party lead- ble news networks — and
ers now believe they can particularly Fox News, the
increase their majority in preferred network of his
the Senate, although con- most loyal supporters — are
trol of the House remains riling up the same voters
within Democratic reach. who turned out for him two
Trump is looking to minimize years ago.
any losses with a pitch that He has further heated up
echoes his dark 2016 cam- his rhetoric by suggesting,
paign rhetoric. without presenting evi-
In a post-Labor Day elec- dence, that the Democrats
tion briefing, GOP pollster are behind the caravan
Neil Newhouse warned and claiming that Middle
the White House about an Easterners — an apparent
enthusiasm gap between allusion to terrorists — are
Democrats and Republi- also in the traveling mass of
cans. He suggested that migrants.
the GOP emphasize to Vice President Mike Pence
voters the potential con- sought to bolster Trump's
sequences of Democratic claims Tuesday, saying at a
control of Congress on is- Washington Post event that
sues like abolishing U.S. Im- it "is inconceivable that
migration and Customs En- there are not people of
forcement. Trump has tak- Middle Eastern descent in
en that message to heart in a crowd of more than 7,000
recent weeks, White House people advancing toward
aides say. our border."
The scare tactics run the risk Trump later denied he was
of motivating Democrats or using the caravan to stoke
turning off moderates in the electoral fear. "No, not at
suburban races that could all," he said. "I'm a very non-
decide the House majority. political person, and that's
But the White House sees why I got elected presi-
the fear factor as a winning dent." Trump's White House
strategy. is reinforcing the president's
"We want to talk about dark view of life under
national security, border Democratic leadership. q