'Vote Republican, or else': Trump dangles government help on the campaign trail ahead of the midterms

President Donald Trump is signaling to states that his administration may be far less likely to help if their voters put Democrats in power on Election Day, this report from Washington says.

Trump says Georgia GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins can call him whenever he wants to ask for help for his state. But if Georgia reelects Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, Trump says it could be another story.

Using his derisive nickname for Ossoff, Trump said last week in Perry, Georgia, that there is a big difference between that and Ossoff calling. The president acted out a hypothetical scenario at his rally where Ossoff called to ask for money for his state, with Trump responding that he does not care what Ossoff wants.

It has been a recurring theme at Trump's rallies this month: from North Carolina to Ohio to Kansas, the president has dangled the idea that his administration would be far less likely to help states where Democrats win in the upcoming midterm elections.

Trump has sandwiched the threats into rallies where he has announced goodies like new semiconductor investments, a submarine repair center and fewer limits on a certain type of diesel, underscoring to the audience the types of tangibles an all-Republican Washington could continue to deliver should his party remain in power after November.

But the president's utterances — part of a larger political strategy anchored on making the midterms about himself and activating conservative voters — have also injected politics into processes that have traditionally remained apolitical, such as doling out disaster aid and providing benefits for veterans.

Ossoff told The Associated Press in response to Trump's rally comments in Perry that it is a losing strategy for the failed president to insult and threaten voters while he is in town reminding them he made everything more expensive.

Asked for further elaboration, the White House said Trump is committed to keeping a Republican majority in Congress so he can continue to deliver on his winning, commonsense agenda. White House spokesman Davis Ingle cited Trump's policies on taxes, prescription drugs, immigration and other policies and added that Democrats have made it clear they have no agenda to improve the lives of the American people.

In Greenville, North Carolina, earlier this month, Trump announced that $1 billion in cash settlements had been delivered to veterans and their family members affected by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base, and that he would direct the Justice Department to settle all remaining legitimate claims expeditiously — if Republicans win the House and the Senate. He said if they do not win, there is no money; if they do win, people are getting it.

Questioned afterward at the White House, Trump said that if Republicans are not there, somebody else will have to settle the Camp Lejeune claims and he cannot speak for another administration, although his own Justice Department is handling the claims.

During a September rally in Gastonia, Trump said North Carolina was still waiting on more Hurricane Helene recovery money and added that if his handpicked Senate candidate, Michael Whatley, loses, he is not sending it, even though he immediately said he was kidding. Whatley has struggled to gain traction against Democrat Roy Cooper, a well-known former governor.

Cooper has described Trump's Camp Lejeune threats as insulting and frustrating. Jill Steen Dilgard, whose father and other relatives served at Camp Lejeune and were subsequently diagnosed with cancer and other health issues, told the AP it was totally unacceptable for the president to condition care for those who served in the US military on the results of the midterms. She said it made her physically sick and infuriated her, describing it as playing politics and trying to bribe for a vote.

During a trip to Kansas to shore up GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, Trump noted he had granted a waiver that would temporarily allow year-round sales of E15, an ethanol-blended gas usually restricted during the summer. At a rally in Park City, he said with Marshall in the Senate they will make year-round E15 permanent, but if Adam Hamilton is in, he is not doing it.

In Vandalia, Ohio, this month, Trump again noted that when you are president, you have a lot of power over states. Of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, he said he does not know anything about her, she is never going to call him, and he is probably not going to help her. Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock said in response that the candidate is committed to working with anyone, Democrat or Republican, to make life better for working Ohioans.