Ed Kilgore: “Midterm elections are typically referenda on the performance and popularity of whoever happens to occupy the White House. In the case of the 2026 midterms, it’s fair to say that no president ever has gone to a greater effort than Donald Trump to personalize an election in which he is not on the ballot.”“For one thing, he has spent an entire decade molding the Republican Party in his image, purging or beating intra-party critics into submission, with his triumphant 2024 comeback and vengeful second-term agenda sealing the deal. For another he’s been omnipresent during the midterm battle, from his very personal direction of entirely unprecedented mid-decade House gerrymandering efforts to his pursuit of such unhelpful policy initiatives as a war of choice with Iran, all punctuated by his ubiquitous rallies.”“So as the 2026 campaign comes to its end, it’s worth a final look at the president’s job-approval numbers for a sense of what he brings to the table in the penultimate national election of his career in public office.”