He’s not on the ballot this year, but President Donald Trump promises he’ll be on the campaign trail ‘a lot’ on behalf of fellow Republicans running in the midterm elections.

‘I’m gonna do a lot of campaign traveling,’ Trump told reporters Thursday aboard Air Force One, as he pointed to his effort this year to help the GOP defend their narrow Senate control and razor-thin House majority. ‘We’re going to work hard.’

But Trump appeared to downplay the GOP’s ballot box expectations as he acknowledged that the party in power, in this case the Republicans, normally faces stiff political headwinds in the midterms.

‘For whatever reason, it’s a deep-down psychological reason, sitting presidents … don’t seem to do well in the midterms,’ the president noted.

Trump made stops last month and earlier this month in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan, to highlight his accomplishments during his first year back in the White House, and to tout his efforts to combat rising prices, a key issue with voters.

And next week the president travels to Iowa, where Republicans aim to defend open Senate and gubernatorial seats in November’s elections.

Sources in the president’s political orbit confirmed to Fox News Digital last month that Trump would be making regular stops on the campaign trail this year. And earlier this week, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who served as co-campaign manager of Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, signaled that Trump would be making weekly stops.

That’s a big change from Trump’s first term, when the president didn’t start his campaign travel blitz until Labor Day.

Republicans lost control of the House in the 2018 midterms, something Trump is aiming to avoid in his second term.

Part of Trump’s strategy includes holding a first-ever Republican midterm convention this year.

As first reported by Fox News Digital, the Republican National Committee, at the winter meeting on Thursday, took the first formal step to change to the party’s rules, which would allow Chairman Joe Gruters ‘to convene a special ceremonial convention outside a presidential election cycle.’

National political conventions, where party delegates from around the country formally nominate their party’s presidential candidates, normally take place during presidential election years. And the hope among Trump and top Republicans is that a midterm convention would give the GOP a high-profile platform to showcase the president’s record and their congressional candidates running in the midterms.

The GOP is dealing with a low propensity issue: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot.

But Gruters emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this month that ‘the President of the United States is our secret weapon… He’s laser focused.’

‘We got to make sure we turn our voters out, and we got to make sure that we have people energized. And there’s nobody that can energize our base more than President Trump.’

Trump on Thursday touted that ‘nobody had a better first year than I did.’

‘Look at what we’ve done. We have the greatest economy in the world. We have the greatest investment in a country, in history, by many times — nobody’s ever had that,’ he added.

But the president’s approval ratings remain well underwater, with many Americans giving him a big thumbs down on the job he’s doing with the economy and the issue of affordability.

‘One year into his second term, Donald Trump has made one thing unmistakably clear: He doesn’t care about everyday Americans,’ DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer argued in a statement. ‘Voters won’t forget Trump’s betrayal come midterms — and Republicans will have to answer for it.’ 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected President Donald Trump’s assertion that ‘Canada lives because of the United States.’

‘Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, in security, and in a rich cultural exchange,’ Carney said on Thursday while speaking in Plains of Abraham, Québec, during a cabinet retreat. 

‘But Canada doesn’t ‘live because of the United States’,’ he said, referencing Trump’s remark. ‘Canada thrives because we are Canadian. We are masters in our own house. This is our country. This is our future. The choice is ours.’

In response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, the White House pointed to Trump’s Truth Social post.

On Thursday, Trump published an open letter to Carney informing him that Canada’s invitation to join the Board of Peace — a U.S.-led council tasked with managing Gaza’s post-war future — had been rescinded.

‘Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The board was inaugurated in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, though Carney had already left, according to The Associated Press.

Tensions between Carney and Trump flared as world leaders met in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum. Both Trump and Carney took swipes at each other in their respective speeches.

During his address on Tuesday, Carney did not mention Trump by name, but rather he said that ‘rules-based order is fading,’ referencing the U.S.

He admitted that there were benefits to US. leadership on the world stage, but painted the entire concept of a rules-based international order as a falsity that is actively failing. Additionally, in his address, Carney urged middle powers, like Canada, to assert themselves and take the opportunity to ‘build a new order that embodies our values.’

When delivering his address on Wednesday, Trump did not shy away from taking aim at Carney. He said that Canada ‘should be grateful’ because the country gets ‘a lot of freebies’ from the U.S., though he did not say what he was referring to.

‘I watched your prime minister yesterday, he wasn’t so grateful,’ Trump said. ‘Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.’

The friction between Trump and Carney underscored a growing rift between the two. In his address to a cabinet retreat, Carney framed it as a moment for Canada to assert its own power and build a future based on its own values.

Fox News Digital reached out to Carney’s office for comment.

Senate Democrats are beginning to peel off from their leadership, upping the ante for another government shutdown.

Disputes over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, fewer restrictions on President Donald Trump’s authority and a possible headache with a previous, controversial provision could set the stage for another government shutdown.

Senate Republican and Democratic leaders don’t want to idly fall into another government shutdown, given that Congress just exited the longest closure in history a few short months ago. They have differing reasons, but for now, Republicans and Democrats agreed that the best option was to fund the government.

While the powers that be may have a momentary truce, it’s rank-and-file members who could drive Washington, D.C. to the edge of another shutdown.

Many of the issues lie within the DHS funding bill, which Democratic negotiators argued included several wins in their quest to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That bill passed through the House Thursday, with tepid support from House Democrats.

Only seven broke from their colleagues, a sign that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his leadership team will have their work cut out for them in the upcoming week. And now, they’ll have to wrangle Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who on Friday announced in a statement that he would not back the broader package.

Kaine wanted to see a much broader swath of constraints baked into the behemoth funding package, including safeguards against Trump’s war powers, the firing of federal workers, and DHS and ICE retribution against his home state.

‘We are not living in normal times,’ Kaine said. ‘The president is acting chaotically and unlawfully, and we shouldn’t give his deranged decisions the imprimatur of congressional approval by passing this legislation without significant amendment.’

Kaine’s defection is particularly notable, given that he was one of a handful of Senate Democrats who crossed the aisle to reopen the government last year.

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that there were up to 10 Senate Democrats who might not vote for the package or any funding bills from Republicans in general. That complicates the math needed to reach 60 votes.

Then there is Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who is a member of Schumer’s leadership team and the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee, who said he won’t support the DHS bill, arguing that it does not go far enough to restrict DHS Secretary Kristi Noem or Trump.

Murphy, who was involved in negotiations for the bill, said in a statement that he understood that his colleague ‘had a hard job — no new budget for DHS is going to cure all the rampant illegality happening within the department.’

‘Democrats have no obligation to support a bill that not only funds the dystopian scenes we are seeing in Minneapolis but will allow DHS to replicate that playbook of brutality in cities all over this country,’ Murphy said.

Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital in a statement that ‘importantly, this bill contains no Democrat poison pills.’

‘I’m hopeful my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will do what’s right and not further politicize this process,’ Britt said.

Still, leaders on both sides are hopeful that the weight of the broader package, which will include defense funding, is enough to keep lawmakers in line and avoid a shutdown.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who is the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, argued that while the package was not exactly what she and Democrats had hoped for, it was good enough to support.

That’s because she and congressional Democrats were able to bake in their own restrictions on funding that would not be adhered to if Congress again has to turn to another short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR).

‘While there’s a whole lot more I wish these bills would have addressed, these compromise bills protect critical investments in the American people, reject truly heartless cuts that would have undone decades of progress —and they are a significantly better outcome than another year-long CR,’ Murray said. ‘I look forward to ensuring they get signed into law.’

House conservatives are reviving various pushes to impeach judges accused of blocking President Donald Trump’s agenda after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gave his tacit approval earlier this week.

‘I just spoke to him on the House floor, and he’s still in support, so we’re going to push to move forward on at least one,’ Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital in the early evening on Thursday.

Ogles was among the conservative Trump allies who led the push to impeach judges last year as the administration engaged in legal battles with federal courts across the country over various rulings.

He previously introduced impeachment articles against U.S. District Judge John Bates for blocking a Trump executive order targeting transgender recognition under federal law, as well as District Judge Theodore Chuang after his ruling to stop a crackdown on foreign aid by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Neither of those impeachment resolutions or others targeting several other judges went anywhere at the time, however. House GOP leaders made clear they believed impeachment was an impractical way to deal with what Republicans saw as ‘activist judges’ trying to influence policy rather than interpret law.

Johnson and other leaders instead favored a bill by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to limit district judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. That bill passed the House along partisan lines last year but was never taken up in the Senate.

The speaker sounded more enthusiastic about impeachment during his press conference on Wednesday, telling reporters, ‘I’m for it.’

He named U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, specifically, who’s been targeted by Republicans after rulings on several key immigration cases involving Trump’s policies, including flying migrants to El Salvador and other countries instead of detaining them in the U.S.

Boasberg more recently raised GOP ire when it was revealed that Boasberg had signed off on decisions that allowed for the seizure of some Republican lawmakers’ phone records in former special counsel Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost probe.

A resolution to impeach Boasberg led by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, gained traction among conservatives last year, and the Texas Republican told Fox News Digital he was heartened by Johnson’s comments on Thursday.

‘We’re going to do everything we can to push that forward. I mean the reality is that Boasberg has been acting as an agent of the Democrat Party for quite some time now,’ Gill said. ‘I’m thrilled to see the speaker get on board. I think his leadership will be crucial in getting this passed.’

Gill said it was still early to predict whether it would see a House-wide vote but said his office was in contact with Johnson’s office about the measure, which he said was ‘moving in the right direction.’

A source familiar with his effort told Fox News Digital that his resolution to impeach Boasberg gained two new House GOP co-sponsors after Johnson’s comments this week.

Other House Republicans who supported the push last year indicated they would do so again.

‘I’d be all for it,’ Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital. He said of Boasberg specifically, ‘I think he’s one of the most forthright judicial activists on the bench and that’s not why he was put on the bench.’

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., said Johnson expressing support could strengthen the push.

‘There’s a lot of respect for Speaker Johnson, especially as a constitutional lawyer — he’s someone that a lot of people have a lot of confidence in,’ Stutzman told Fox News Digital. ‘The fact that he’s willing to step out there as a Speaker of the House, it says a lot.’

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital, ‘I think there’s more of an appetite and less of a hesitation than there was earlier in the Congress. We had an agenda. We didn’t want to be distracted with potential impeachment, but I think now, as we’re realizing things are not getting better, the people around the nation are expecting us to hold this judge and others like him accountable.’

But not all Republicans were as enthusiastic.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., who was supportive of the GOP’s judicial impeachment fervor last year, told Fox News Digital Thursday that he was not sure it could survive the committee process needed before a House-wide vote.

House GOP Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore, R-Utah, said ‘everybody has to be willing to consider impeachment’ as a power of Congress but said he did not know the details of the specific initiatives.

‘I will reinforce how much I like Issa’s bill. It moves it away from political rhetoric into, ‘Hey, let’s do something substantive here,” Moore told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s a pretty innovative solution in a very sound way.’

Democrats and other critics of the impeachment push have called it an unwarranted persecution of a co-equal branch of government, but supporters say it’s well within Congress’ right to use the impeachment process when they believe abuses have taken place.

As Americans brace for massive winter storms expected to impact more than 170 million people across the U.S., President Donald Trump mocked what he described as ‘environmental insurrectionists’ in a Truth Social post on Friday.

‘Record Cold Wave expected to hit 40 States. Rarely seen anything like it before,’ Trump said in the post.

‘Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain — WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???’ he quipped.

‘A significant, long-duration winter storm will bring widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain from the Southern Rockies to New England through Monday. Widespread travel disruptions, prolonged power outages, and vast tree damage is likely,’ the National Weather Service noted in a Friday post on X.

In a Truth Social post last year, the president declared, ‘I (WE!) just won the War on the Climate Change Hoax.’ 

Trump’s post addressed a recent essay by Bill Gates. In the essay, Gates wrote, ‘Although climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries — it will not lead to humanity’s demise. People will be able to live and thrive in most places on Earth for the foreseeable future.’

‘Bill Gates has finally admitted that he was completely WRONG on the issue,’ Trump wrote at the time. ‘It took courage to do so, and for that we are all grateful.’ 

Former Democratic President Joe Biden repeatedly addressed the issue of climate change during his White House tenure.

In his 2023 State of the Union Address, Biden claimed there is a ‘climate crisis’ that is ‘an existential threat.’

In a Truth Social post the night of Biden’s 2023 speech, Trump asserted, ‘His Climate Change statements, they can no longer use Global Warming because that doesn’t work anymore, will bankrupt our Country, and bring us into the Third World status, which we’re getting closer and closer to anyway.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.