Trump tries to rally House GOP but meanders along the way as the party’s majority narrows

By SEUNG MIN KIM and DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that Republicans have “so many good nuggets” to campaign on this year as they try to hold onto their razor-thin margin in the House.

But the president’s nearly 90-minute speech before House Republicans had little in the way of a fresh policy agenda or a cohesive new message to guide the year. Instead, he meandered from defending his actions during the Capitol riot five years ago to joking about being liberal-minded to win the votes of transgender people to making head-scratching references to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s use of a wheelchair.

As he promised political “ammunition” to help Republicans, Trump emphasized the success of his 2024 presidential campaign, reminding the audience that he carried every swing state as he pondered why voters tend to turn against the party in power during midterm elections.

“They say that when you win the presidency, you lose the midterms,” Trump said in remarks at the Kennedy Center, the performing arts venue that his allies recently renamed for him. “I wish you could explain to me what the hell is going on with the mind of the public.”

He warned that if Democrats regain control of Congress, “they’ll find a way ...