Trump Tells Ohio Rally He Won't Help Democrats If They Win, Vows GOP Win 'We're Going To Shove It Up Their A--'

President Trump held a Saturday night rally in Vandalia, a Dayton suburb, campaigning for Ohio Sen. Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, according to CNBC and The Hill. It was one stop on a red-state swing roughly a month before the Nov. 3 midterms.

Trump didn't hold back. "Just get out and vote," he told the crowd, according to CNBC. "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 a--." He also called Democrats "dumb son of a bitches" during the speech.

Then came the threat about federal funding. Trump told the crowd that Ohio's Republican officials call him regularly for federal money, and that keeping the GOP in power keeps that pipeline open. Referring to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, who's running against Ramaswamy, Trump said flatly: "But I'm not going to help her."

A sitting president saying he'll decide federal help based on which party wins a state election raises questions about how government resources get allocated. Husted's opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, didn't let it slide either. Brown spokesperson Lauren Chou told CNBC that "Jon Husted puts corporations and billionaires first every time, and we all pay for it," tying the remark to Husted's support for what she called "sweetheart tax deals" that brought data centers to Ohio.

Trump's defenders would say this is just how Washington has always worked: states with friendlier delegations get faster phone calls back. There's no indication yet of any formal policy, funding freeze, or executive order tied to Ohio specifically. It was a rally line, not a signed directive.

Husted, for his part, turned his own fire on Brown directly. "He's been in office for 50 years — can you name one thing that he has done for you?" Husted asked the crowd, according to CNBC.

Gruden Shows Up

Fox News reported that former Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden fired up the crowd before Trump spoke, standing alongside Husted and Ramaswamy. Gruden and Husted were teammates on the 1985 University of Dayton football team.

"I just came back for one reason and I'm from Ohio," Gruden told the crowd, according to Fox News. "My mom and dad are from Cleveland. I was born in Sandusky and I went to the University of Dayton. And I'm damn proud of it, man!"

Gruden then endorsed Husted directly, calling him "a great player" who intercepted 17 passes at Dayton and crediting his "work ethic" and "day-to-day mental toughness." Husted has held nearly every statewide office in Ohio politics — state rep, House speaker, state senator, secretary of state, lieutenant governor — before being appointed to his U.S. Senate seat in January 2025, filling the vacancy left when JD Vance became vice president. He is now running to hold the seat in the November 2026 election.

At one point a protester was escorted out of the rally while the crowd chanted "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," Fox News reported. Trump used the moment to needle the crowd that they had "more spirit" than the Ohio State game happening that same day.

The Numbers Behind the Rally

Trump's visit comes as his standing in Ohio has slipped. He won more than 55% of the state's vote in 2024, per CNBC, but gas prices there have jumped 35% over the past year to $4.16 a gallon. Ohio is one of eight Senate races nationally rated competitive, and both Husted and Ramaswamy are locked in close contests — Husted against Brown, Ramaswamy against Acton.

Trump told the Vandalia crowd he expects Republicans to outperform expectations. "I think we're going to have a big surprise because they don't know what's happening," he said, per CNBC. National polling cited by CNBC and The Hill suggests Democrats are gaining ground heading into November, with control of both the House and Senate at stake.

What's Next

Trump has no public events scheduled for Sunday but heads to Nebraska on Monday, while Vice President JD Vance travels to Alaska, according to The Hill. Separately, Associate Justice Samuel Alito is set to appear on "Fox News Sunday" after telling CBS News on Friday that he'd considered retiring at the end of the Supreme Court's last term — a comment that will likely draw questions about the timing of any future vacancy.