White House Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political, and Public Affairs James Blair said Thursday that President Donald Trump has already begun spending on midterm elections.
Blair’s reveal came during a conversation with Punchbowl News’ podcast Fly Out Day.
“I do think the President will spend. I’m very confident of that. In fact, the President is spending already. Don’t always advertise it,” Blair said when Jake Sherman asked if Trump would spend on midterms.
Responding to Sherman’s follow-up, Blair said Trump is not currently spending campaign money in Texas, where there is a three-way battle for the Republican nomination between Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), and Lone Star State Attorney General Ken Paxton, though he is spending elsewhere.
He did note that Trump would be willing to spend in Texas to help keep the seat red if needed, after expressing a deep confidence that a Republican would win the Senate race.
Blair stressed that Trump has also helped raise funds for House and Senate Republicans, including the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which is the campaign arm for House Republicans.
“He also helps them raise money. I think the NRCC raised a record $35 million in four weeks at the dinner he did back in April, and he appears for the committees. I’m quite confident he’ll spend. I’m quite confident that money will not be our limiting factor,” Blair said.
“He knows how to deploy resources, and at the end of the day, he will spend what it takes and help his team win,” Blair went on to add.
In August, Trump told Breitbart News that a drop in drug prices due to most-favored-nations negotiations would be a key factor heading into the midterms.
“Well, one of the things they’re going to be talking about pretty soon are the tremendous drop in drug prices. You know, we’ve cut drug prices by 1,200, 1,300, 1,400, 1,500 percent. I don’t mean 50 percent, I mean 1,400-1,500 percent, because we’re going Favored Nations,” he said.
“We want the same price as Europe gets. We want the same price as [every] other country gets. And over the years, 25-30 years ago, it started where they were charging us much more,” he added.
Trump has notably negotiated a most-favored-nation deal for Pfizer-produced drugs and with EMD Serono regarding in vitro fertilization drug prices in the past month.
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