Trump stumps for candidates in deep red Alabama and says he'll be back
again next week
[October 03, 2026]
By SOPHIE BATES and JILL COLVIN
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — President Donald Trump rallied supporters in deep
red Alabama Friday, returning to the place where he drew his first mega
crowd, but a state that is hardly considered a top midterm battleground.
With just weeks to go before elections that will determine control of
Congress, Trump urged his supporters to back Republicans including Sen.
Tommy Tuberville, who is running for Alabama governor, and state Rep.
Rhett Marques, who is seeking to flip Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd
Congressional District.
Trump’s decision to spend so much time in deep red states that have
garnered relatively little attention during the critical final stretch
underscores his party's uphill climb and the electorate's broad
disapproval of his performance as president. The event at the University
of South Alabama gave Trump the chance to be surrounded by some of his
most loyal supporters as he confronts dismal poll numbers and growing
pessimism from his party about their chances of holding onto the House
and Senate in November.
“I’m here really because, you know, sometimes, even though you don’t
have to come here, you gotta pay respect to the people that have loved
you right from the beginning,” he told the crowd a day after visiting
another red state, Oklahoma.
And he announced that he would be returning to Alabama again next
Saturday for the college football game between the Georgia Bulldogs and
Alabama Crimson Tide.
A nostalgic venue for Trump
Trump held his first mega-rally in Mobile more than a decade ago,
drawing what some estimated to be 30,000 people to a college football
stadium. The huge crowd made clear that Trump was more than a celebrity
candidate and had the potential to make waves in the 2016 primary.
“I don’t know if you know, it sort of all began here,” Trump said after
taking the stage. “We packed the stadium, and the rest is history.”
On Friday, supporters began lining up early on a hot, humid day for the
chance to hear the president speak.
They included Patrick Burch, 27, who drove from Huntsville, Alabama, and
said concerns about the rising cost of living didn't bother him.
“The way I see it, at the end of the day, if I gotta pay a little more,
a couple dollars extra here and there in order for my kids to be safe in
the future and to make sure Iran isn’t nuclear or anything like that,
then I’m ok with that,” he said.
Scott Carpenter, 64, from nearby Citronelle, said he wasn't affected by
rising fuel prices because he doesn't drive much these days, but
record-high diesel prices were hitting some friends hard.
“They don’t like it,” he said. “They’re very upset. They love Donald
Trump. They just want the diesel price to come down.” As for Trump's
visit to the state Friday, he said: “For him to come here, he had to be
a little nervous. Or some of the other places really didn’t want him to
come.”
The rally also drew protesters, including Elijah Splitt, 22, a graduate
student at the school who said he was a member of the Revolutionary
Party for Socialism and Liberation.
“We have a bunch of students who are very upset, who are very agitated,
who are angry that the university administration would allow the
Republicans to hold their midterm rally here and to also invite the
president of the United States,” he said, calling the rally “a
last-ditch effort” by Trump to “boost morale amongst Republican voters.”
Federal court records show that three university students were arrested
for making threats against the president in social media posts.
Alabama is friendly turf as voters have soured on Trump
Trump has repeatedly asked his supporters to pretend that he is on the
ballot this year — and he did so again Friday.
But while Trump maintains a loyal base of supporters, he has become
increasingly toxic. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for
Public Affairs Research this week found that only about 3 in 10 U.S.
adults approve of how Trump is handling his job as president. And when
it comes to the economy, most blame him for rising prices.
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President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally at The Mitchell
Center in Mobile, Ala., Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn
Martin)
Trump has repeatedly dismissed concerns about high costs and gas
prices as his unpopular war in Iran drags on. On Friday, he insisted
his was “the most successful presidency in history.” He again
promised that Washington would send everyone $5,000 checks if
Republicans retain control of Congress — despite significant GOP
opposition to the idea — and later as he flew home on Air Force One,
announced that his administration was sending checks of nearly $100
to more than 20 million seniors for Medicare Part B premiums.
The rally gave Republicans the optics of a large, cheering crowd as
they try to build enthusiasm. Speakers included Tuberville, who is
running against former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, and Republican
Rep. Barry Moore, who is running for Tuberville's seat.
Moore polled the crowd on how many attendees had been at Trump's
2015 rally in Mobile.
“Do you still stand with him today?” he asked. “When he gets here
tonight, y'all stand with him. Let him know we love him. Let him
know we need him. And let him know we're not going to let him down.”
While Republicans remain the heavy favorites in Alabama’s statewide
campaigns, they face a more challenging political landscape this
year, despite redistricting efforts.
Mobile is near Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, where
Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures is trying to fend off a challenge
from Trump-backed Marques after the district's boundaries were
redrawn as part of a larger effort to help Republicans keep control
of the U.S. House.
“You’re the only one a little close because it’s new, it’s fresh,
it’s brand new,” Trump said to Marques.
The district is one of several Democratic-leaning districts across
the South that were reshaped to Republican advantage after a U.S.
Supreme Court ruling this year that severely weakened the Voting
Rights Act, a Civil Rights-era law that has increased minority
representation in Congress and elsewhere. Figures was first elected
to the House in 2024, giving Alabama two Black representatives for
the first time in its history.
Trump's rally also aimed to reach Florida voters
Mobile is also next to Florida’s panhandle, a Republican stronghold.
Party officials hoped the rally would help to bolster Trump-backed
candidates in Florida, including Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, who
is running for governor.
In a meeting on Capitol Hill this week, White House chief of staff
Susie Wiles told GOP senators that Trump would be campaigning
aggressively until the Nov. 3 midterms, with events almost every
day. His schedule includes trips to the most competitive
battlegrounds, including Ohio and Texas.
Friday's rally also highlighted the recent approval of the $3.2
billion Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project, which Trump called
the largest transportation project in Alabama history.
Speaking before Trump's arrival, Moore proposed naming it the Donald
J. Trump Bridge.
Trump said if that happened, he'd be happy to let builders go over
budget.
___
Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Seung Min
Kim in Washington and Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Ala., contributed
to this report.
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