Trump Turns Midterm Pitch Into Looks Contest as He Calls GOP Candidates 'Beautiful' and Mocks Rivals' Faces

Donald Trump has added a new line to his midterm stump speech: his candidates are good-looking, and several of their opponents are not.

At rallies in Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio this month, the president has called Republican candidates 'beautiful', 'central casting' and 'all man', while likening Democrats to Pee-wee Herman and the MAD magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman. The Associated Press described the remarks as a new pitch for Republican candidates built on their appearance.

Not every Republican was flattered, with Trump telling a party gathering that he did not like the way Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton looked.

'Central Casting' and 'All Man'

At a rally in Kentucky on Saturday 17 October 2026, Trump turned to Ed Gallrein, the former Navy SEAL running for a House seat, and called him 'beautiful'. 'Central casting,' the president said.

Gallrein, whom Trump backed, defeated Representative Thomas Massie, a frequent Trump critic, in the Republican primary. The rally at Truist Arena, at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, was held to support Kentucky Republicans, including Senate nominee Andy Barr.

A day earlier in Dalton, Georgia, Trump praised Representative Mike Collins, the Republican challenging Senator Jon Ossoff. 'I think Mike Collins is a good-looking man,' he said. 'And he's all man. I'm not sure about Ossoff,' HuffPost reported.

He went on: 'I'm casting a movie for a senator, I like the white hair. I like the big strong build. Big strong guy. But that's what I want.'

Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for Georgia governor, received similar treatment. 'I actually think that Rick Jackson's a very handsome, distinguished, beautiful-looking guy,' Trump said.

Husted's Jawline and Ossoff's Makeup

Ohio Senator Jon Husted has received considerable attention. In Kentucky, Trump called him 'a perfect person, good-looking guy' before making a crude remark about his body. 'I stood right over here and I examined his ass. I never did that. No, I never did that with a man before,' he said.

He was recalling a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on 12 October, where he praised Husted's college football career. 'Look at his hands. He's got, like, claws,' Trump said then. 'Look at that jawline, I'm telling you.'

Husted, who was appointed to the seat vacated by JD Vance, faces former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in a special election. Trump claimed in Kentucky that Husted had gained 'nine or 10 points' since Youngstown, but he did not identify a poll. A Marist survey in late September put Brown on 51 per cent to Husted's 43 per cent, NBC4 reported.

A Suffolk University/USA Today poll gave Brown about 47 per cent to Husted's 44 per cent. Both surveys predated the Youngstown rally, so they cannot show whether his remarks changed Husted's standing.

The flattery has a flipside. In Dalton, Trump said of Ossoff: 'Someone said he's a good-looking man. I don't think he's a good-looking man.' He repeated his earlier comparison of the senator to Pee-wee Herman, the character made famous by the late Paul Reubens, HuffPost reported.

Trump also mocked Ossoff over campaign spending on makeup, before conceding that he wears some himself. In July, the conservative Washington Free Beacon reported that Ossoff's campaign had paid a makeup artist nearly £2,250 ($3,000) since February, and there is no suggestion the payments were improper. 'I wear very little, and I do it myself,' he said.

'Because if you don't put a little on, you look a little bit like a dead person, and I don't want to look that way.'

Paxton Gets the Treatment Too

In Texas, Trump has said the Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, a state representative and former teacher, reminds him of Alfred E. Neuman, the freckled, gap-toothed mascot of MAD magazine, the AP reported. Talarico faces Paxton, the state's attorney general, in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the year.

Paxton himself was not spared. Speaking at the party's midterm convention with Paxton nearby, Trump said: 'I don't really like the way he looks.' He added that Paxton's record as attorney general 'speaks a lot louder' than his suit, according to the AP.

The AP linked the pattern to Trump's background before politics. He owned the Miss Universe pageant and became a household name as host of The Apprentice. The agency also noted that this year's midterm debates already include arguments over which candidates are more masculine.

Republicans in Ohio have been asked about the president's remarks on Husted. CNN headlined its 18 October report on the reaction: 'I will not comment on his anatomy'. A clip of the Kentucky remarks posted by the commentator Acyn had been viewed more than a million times on X when checked on Sunday 18 October.

Trump told the Kentucky crowd: 'In this election, I'm asking you to pretend I'm on the ballot.' The midterms on 3 November will determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress.

Voters in Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Texas will now decide whether Trump's casting choices win their races.