U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Marine One to depart for a state visit to Britain, from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 16, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
President Donald Trump recently joined a tele-rally for the Republican candidate in New Jersey's upcoming gubernatorial election, and made a vague promise to assist with get-out-the-vote efforts despite him leaving for a week-long trip to Asia.
Politico reported Friday that Trump called into the event to encourage New Jersey Republicans to support former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, and heaped insults on Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill. He appeared to struggle to come up with criticism for Sherrill outside of her "unusual name."
"Mikie, as they call her — the only thing she’s got is an unusual name, other than that she’s terrible," Trump said. "Mikie Sherrill looks [like] such an innocent name, but her energy policies would send your prices soaring and make New Jersey even more expensive than it already is."
Sherrill fired back, saying in a statement: “It’s no surprise Jack is campaigning with Trump in this final stretch, given he is running to be his lackey in New Jersey. Jack has cheered Trump on as he rips away healthcare from hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans and drives up costs while pocketing billions with his tariff regime."
The president notably promised to be "out campaigning for Jack," though Politico observed that Trump didn't elaborate on how he would be helping Ciattarelli's campaign. He left Friday evening for a high-stakes trip in Asia, where he'll be stopping in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. The New York Times reported he plans to be back in Washington by Halloween, where he'll host trick-or-treaters at the White House.
That doesn't leave much time on Trump's schedule to go back to New Jersey, as early voting ends on November 2 and voters go to the polls on November 4. Trump will likely also have his hands full in Washington, as Congress will likely still be negotiating an end to the ongoing government shutdown. With Trump out of town, he'll be unable to sign a government funding bill until November, effectively ensuring the shutdown will last until at least next month.
Latest polls in the New Jersey gubernatorial race show Sherrill with a five to seven-point advantage over Ciattarelli, though an Emerson College poll shows the two candidates i a dead heat, with 11 percent undecided.
Click here to read Politico's full report.