Trump Says Part of His ‘Big Plans’ for 2026 Is Simply to ‘Survive’
President Donald Trump said Thursday that his “big plans” for the 2026 midterms include one blunt priority — survival.
In an interview with One America News Network, Trump was asked if he planned to campaign heavily for Republicans in the midterm cycle. The president chuckled, then gave a morbidly honest answer. “I have big plans, I want to survive,” he said.
Trump went on to criticize Democrats for what he called dangerous rhetoric fueling violence in politics. “So you look at what’s going on, it’s crazy. You know, the rhetoric that these crazy Democrats are using is very dangerous. They’ve made politics very dangerous,” he added. “And we’ll be, we’ll be, you’re going to be very happy with the job we’re going to do.”
The comment comes after Trump has survived two assassination attempts in the last year. In July 2024, a bullet grazed his ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from a rooftop near the stage, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died shielding his daughter from the gunfire. Trump has often reflected on how close he came to losing his life that day.
Two months later, another attempt was made when 59-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested at Trump’s Palm Beach golf course after pointing a gun in the president’s direction. Secret Service and local law enforcement intervened before Trump came into direct danger.
The threat to conservatives has remained front of mind since Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a campus debate in Utah just weeks ago. Kirk, a close Trump ally, was shot in the neck while speaking, sending shockwaves through the MAGA movement.
Trump, reflecting on the dangers, said his survival is part of his “big plans” heading into 2026. Still, he noted his intention to spend heavily in support of Republican allies. Since defeating Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, Trump has raised over $1 billion across multiple political initiatives.
He joked with governors earlier this year, saying, “So we’ve got that money, and I got to spend it somewhere … if I can’t spend it on me, I guess that means I’m going to be spending it on some of my friends, right?”
But Trump also admitted concern that history may not favor him. “The one thing that I worry about is that, if you look over many, many years, I don’t have the numbers, but the person that wins the presidency always seems to lose the midterms,” he told OAN.