WASHINGTON, DC, USA (AP) — President Donald Trump implored his supporters to vote today, saying the media will treat the midterm results as a referendum on his presidency.

“Even though I’m not on the ballot, in a certain way I am on the ballot,” Trump said during a tele-town hall organised by his re-election campaign yesterday to encourage Republicans to get out and vote. “The press is very much considering it a referendum on me and us as a movement.”

The comments came as Trump prepared for a final, three-state rally blitz as he tries to keep Congress in Republican control and stave off losses that could profoundly change his presidency. Trump’s closing argument has largely focused on fear — warning, with no evidence, that a Democratic takeover would throw the country into chaos, spurring an influx of illegal immigration and a wave of crime.

He also made the case that if Democrats win they will work to roll back everything he’s tried to accomplish. “It’s all fragile,” he said on the call.

Trump was scheduled to hold his final three get-out-the-vote rallies last night in Ohio, Indiana and Missouri — a day after stops in Tennessee and Georgia where the president’s closing argument to voters was on stark display as he sought to motivate complacent Republicans to the polls by stoking fears about the prospects of Democratic control.

“You want to see Georgia prosperity end?” Trump asked the rally crowd in Macon, Georgia. “Vote for the Democrat.” Trump’s remarks included ominous references to the “Antifa” far-left-leaning militant groups and a migrant caravan marching toward the US-Mexico border, which he has called an “invasion”.

Appearing before thousands in an overflowing aircraft hangar in Macon for Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, Trump declared, “There’s electricity in the air like I haven’t seen since ’16.

“This is a very important election,” he added. “I wouldn’t say it’s as important as ’16, but it’s right up there.”

But Trump earlier in the day appeared to distance himself from the fate of House Republican candidates. Speaking to reporters as he left the White House en route to his rallies, Trump seemed to dampen expectations for his party in the House.

“I think we’re going to do well in the House,” he said of today’s races. “But, as you know, my primary focus has been on the Senate, and I think we’re doing really well in the Senate.”

The comments marked the starkest indication that Trump has grown less optimistic about the GOP’s chances of retaining control of the House, where Republicans face greater headwinds than in the Senate.

Still, he told reporters before boarding Air Force One that “tremendous crowds” were already awaiting him in both states. He said that enthusiasm was off the charts, though polls have shown Democrats have an enthusiasm edge.

“The level of fervour, the level of fever is very strong in the Republican side,” said Trump, adding: “I have never seen such excitement. Maybe back in 16 during the presidential, right around the vote, but I have never seen such an enthusiastic Republican Party.”