Trump heads to rallies in Arizona and Montana after Alaska stop

President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at campaign rallies in Arizona and Montana after spending the previous day in Alaska. The Alaska stop highlights the Republican Party's polling difficulties in competitive states, where Democrats see opportunities to flip seats amid concerns over living costs and the conflict in the Middle East.

In Alaska, Senate race polls show Democratic candidate Mary Peltola tied with or slightly ahead of incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan, despite the president having carried the state by 14 points in the 2024 election. Sullivan told reporters that Alaskans face "challenges" with energy costs, but described the Middle East conflict as "temporary" and framed the "forever war" as the Democratic opposition to Alaska oil and gas jobs.

Trump has focused his midterm tour on conservative-leaning areas of swing states rather than more politically diverse regions. During the Alaska visit, he pardoned two local repair shop owners convicted of Clean Air Act violations and urged Republicans to vote by mail, a practice he has previously criticized.

The president also repeated his claim that the United States entered the war on Iran because the country was "two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon," a statement contradicted by 2025 intelligence reports that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons pursuit in 2003.

On social media, Trump posted a video of a British man who was killed by a tiger at a wildlife park, adding the caption "Don’t ever mess with nature!" The family of the victim said the post caused them severe distress.

In related developments, new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia declined to answer a question about her bar admission, responding only that she "moved to China."