Michael Goodwin: Trump faces an uphill battle to sell voters on his agenda before the midterms heres how he can do it

Although he wrote and has lived his life by the “Art of the Deal,” Donald Trump faces a giant hurdle in trying to persuade voters to keep his party in control of Washington.Over the next month, he must successfully sell the idea that his presidency has been a big success, and that he needs a Republican congress to help him finish the job.Midterm elections commonly spell trouble for the occupant of the White House, but Trump’s challenge is far from ordinary.With his personal popularity sagging and his party a decided underdog in swing districts and states, the president must move mountains of voters and do it quickly.Election Day on Nov.3 is approaching on the fast track, and the urgency is compounded because nearly all states allow some form of early voting.Showing that he realizes his political life and legacy are on the line, the president plans to spend most of October barnstorming America, with reports saying he aims to visit at least 10 states.The scale of the challenge is indicated by the fact that his first stops were in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama — states that are usually reliably red, but are not yet secured this year.The extended tour is unusual, but Trump has little choice.

With polls and betting markets predicting Dems will win majorities in both the House and Senate, the president’s final two years in office will be the stuff of nightmares unless he can engineer a stunning comeback.Otherwise, we know what the template of failure looks like — the second half of his first term.After Dems won a House majority in 2018 and made Nancy Pelosi Speaker, she orchestrated investigations of nearly every breath the president took and every dollar he spent.Thanks to the help of leftist partisans carrying media credentials and a corrupt deep state, she turned the Russia-gate hoax into an impeachment farce.A similar fate would be certain to befall the president again, with Dems now largely running on a “Get Trump” platform.

Under the sway of burn-it-...