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President Donald Trump used a campaign appearance in Park City, Kansas, to warn that the United States risks the same violent unrest seen in France if Democrats gain power in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a Reuters report published October 20, 2026. Trump spoke in support of Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, whose seat has not gone to a Democrat in 94 years but now faces a competitive challenge. The president tied his message to recent French protests over the cost of living that escalated into riots, looting and clashes with police.
In his remarks, Trump described France as a once-great nation that had been conquered, looted and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists and communists who hate Christianity and Western civilization, Reuters reported. “When you see burning steeples and raging fires in France, just remember that is what the radical Dumocrats want to do to America,” Trump said. He added that Democrats expect to carry out such an agenda but that Republicans would not allow it to happen.
The Kansas event formed part of a broader 32-day campaign push ahead of the November 3, 2026, midterm elections, during which all House seats and roughly one-third of Senate seats are contested, a Reuters analysis found. Trump turned to familiar anti-immigrant themes that have featured in his previous campaigns, according to the news agency. Rights advocates have criticized such rhetoric over the years for targeting immigrants and ethnic minority groups.
A Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted in the days before the rally placed Trump’s approval rating at a record low of 31 percent, with voters citing rising gas prices, tariffs and healthcare costs as top concerns. The survey underscored Republican worries about holding congressional majorities amid public frustration with economic pressures that have persisted since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran began. Trump has struggled to ease those cost-of-living issues despite repeated pledges, the poll data showed.
French authorities reported that the unrest, which began as nationwide protests against underfunded public services and declining purchasing power, resulted in more than 2,400 arrests and nearly 1,000 police officers injured over several days of violence, according to multiple wire service accounts. Protesters targeted government buildings, including town halls, in several cities, with some historic structures set ablaze. Trump offered no specific policy evidence linking Democratic platforms to such outcomes but presented the French situation as a direct preview of potential American developments.
Earlier on the same day, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that migrants had conquered France and that the country must close its borders immediately, a message that echoed his rally comments, Reuters noted. He also claimed to have previously warned French President Emmanuel Macron that unchecked immigration would turn Paris into a Muslim city, tying the issue directly to immigration policy rather than other factors such as education or economic management. The Kansas race against Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton has tightened in recent weeks, prompting the high-profile visit from the president.
Vice President JD Vance reinforced the same themes in separate comments over the preceding days, stating that Western liberals had ignored questions of assimilation when allowing large-scale immigration from incompatible cultures, according to a separate Reuters dispatch. Vance linked the French events explicitly to the stakes of the U.S. congressional elections, urging Americans to take note of the potential consequences. The coordinated messaging reflects Republican strategy to focus rural and male voters on cultural and security issues in the final stretch before polls open.
