President Donald Trump hosted a rare midterm rally in Tennessee, a state the president won by nearly 30 points in 2024.
Trump hosted the rally in U.S. Rep. Matt Van Epps’ home city of Clarksville Saturday, days before early voting begins in the midterm elections. Van Epps is up for re-election less than a year after winning a special congressional election by single digits in a district his predecessor won by more than 20 percentage points.
Trump acknowledged that it’s rare for him to stump for candidates in a ruby red state. The president characterized his visit as a “reward” for the state’s support.
“What the hell am I doing in Tennessee?” Trump asked the crowd. “Sometimes it’s nice to go to a place you don’t have to be, but you’re there to say thank you to the great people that elected you three separate times in record numbers.”
President Donald Trump, from left, speaks as Tennessee Republican congressional candidate Charlie Hatcher, Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., and State Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, a Tennessee Republican congressional candidate, and Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., listen at a campaign rally at F&M Bank Arena, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump’s visit comes as the GOP’s internal polling shows some safely red districts may be in danger during the midterms, according to Politico. Polling from the conservative think tank, Beacon Center, shows that for the first time on record, Trump’s approval rating in Tennessee has dipped below 50%.
Trump appeared alongside other GOP candidates on the ballot this November, including two state lawmakers, Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, and Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, who are both vying for open seats in Tennessee’s new congressional districts. Taylor and Garrett were part of the statehouse’s Republican supermajority that split the state’s only majority-minority district to flip Memphis’ long-held Democratic seat red. Trump asked Tennessee and other Southern states to redraw their maps ahead of the midterm elections to give GOP candidates an edge.
President Donald Trump, left, greets Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a gubernatorial candidate for Tennessee, at a campaign rally at F&M Bank Arena, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump also sang the praises of longtime ally, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in her contest against Democratic Memphis City Council member Jerri Green for the governorship.
“Get out and vote for your next governor, Marsha Blackburn, a warrior. She’s been my friend for a long time. And she’s running against a radical, pro-crime public defender from Shelby County named Jerri Green who’s a lunatic who wants to end our Memphis State Task Force, wants to also take away your guns, immediately take away your guns,” Trump said.
Green has said that she is a gun owner herself and that she would not defund the police even if they defy a state law that requires them to partner with ICE.
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsThe line outside President Donald Trump’s midterm rally in Clarksville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026.
Trump’s rally drew a crowd of thousands despite inclement weather from Hurricane Isaias — but didn’t quite fill the 6,000-seat stadium at F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville. Those who braved the rain held signs that said, “Tennessee is Trump Country,” sometimes waving them at protesters flying the Palestinian flag on the opposite side of the street.
For Trump supporter Laurie Hoskins, the rally marked her third time traveling to see the president.
“I just wanted to see Trump. I wanted to see him one more time. I don’t know how close he’ll be to me again,” Hoskins said.
Hoskins had been in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, but her district changed in May when the state legislature redrew the congressional map. She told WPLN News that she’ll now be casting a ballot for Charlie Hatcher in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District. While she’s still getting used to the change, she said redistricting “needed to be done.”
Early voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 14 and runs through Thursday, Oct. 29. Election day is Nov. 3.
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