US President Donald Trump dances to the song "YMCA" by the Village People, at the end of a campaign rally for US Senator Jon Husted (R-OH) and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in Youngstown, Ohio, US, October 12, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump’s objectification of Sen. Jon Husted’s physique may be part of a larger strategy. Insiders told The Daily Beast that Trump began publicly emphasizing his admiration for Husted’s appearance on the campaign trail to draw attention to the Ohio Republican as polls showed him trailing Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown ahead of the midterm elections. Trump has reportedly convinced himself that talking about Husted’s butt and legs will help Husted win, but polls are still painting a different picture, and public sentiment about Trump’s comments is not favorable.
“Let’s be honest, he’s a milquetoast candidate,” a Republican official who has been part of Husted’s team told the media outlet. “I mean, he was appointed to this position by an outgoing governor (Mike DeWine) who, quite honestly, is not even all that popular among Republicans. But as they say: you go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you had.”
The revelation comes amid ongoing conversation about Trump’s praise of Husted’s physical attributes. At an October 12 rally, Trump said he took a closer look at Husted after former NFL coach Jon Gruden told him about Husted’s championship football career. “I started examining his body, because I didn’t know he was a great athlete,” Trump, 80, told his supporters. “And I looked, and I watched up and down, and I looked at this a——[.] And I looked at the whole... and then I looked at his hands — look at his hands, he’s got these, like, claws... and I got it, you are a great athlete.”
Trump’s strategy appears to have paid off, with insiders claiming Husted received a boost in several polls and enthusiasm for him grew among MAGA voters. According to the insiders, that shift was reported back to the president.
Husted has taken Trump’s remarks in stride. The 59-year-old addressed the president’s most recent comments about his “a——” to reporters. “The president is coming in tomorrow, again, to Ohio,” Husted said this week. “Third time in less than thirty days. He’ll be in Chillicothe. Don’t worry, I was in the weight room this morning working out. I don’t want to let him down.”
Following the eye-raising comments from Trump, the president doubled down on his sentiments at a separate rally. “I’ve never studied the body of a man before. It’s not my thing. Nothing wrong with it — of course,” Trump told a crowd, before reiterating that he had examined Husted’s backside and legs. Trump also spoke of Husted’s broad shoulders, claiming that when he tapped the senator, he hurt his own hand. “He’s like a piece of steel,” Trump said. “I said, ‘This guy’s a monster!’”