RNC Chairman says Trump is visiting blue states that could be in play next week

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley on Wednesday said former President Donald Trump's upcoming appearances in blue states this week are in states that could be in play during next week's election.

Trump is scheduled to visit New Mexico, Nevada, and Virginia ahead of the election. Nevada is considered one of the seven swing states this election, but Virginia and New Mexico have been blue states in recent elections.

Whatley insisted that Trump is "playing offense" by visiting the blue states in the final stretch of the election, and expressed confidence in the former president's chances of winning critical swing states. 

“Donald Trump is playing offense right now. We are seeing numbers. We are seeing indicators that show us that those states may be in play,” Whatley told NewsNation. “What we’re seeing right now in the battleground states is Donald Trump continuing to have small but durable leads. 

"We feel that we’re in a great position, given the early votes and the absentee votes for him, to expect that we’re going to go into this Election Day with a great opportunity to win this thing," he added.

The chairman said that in contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris is "playing" defensively now.

“She’s playing defense in terms of her messaging; she’s playing defense in terms of her polling,” Whatley said. “She is playing defense, really, in terms of having to withdraw resources from states like North Carolina.”

Trump and Harris are essentially tied in most swing states, with both candidates polling within the margin of error. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.