President Donald Trump has canceled weekend rallies in Kansas and Iowa ahead of the November 3 midterm elections and will switch to virtual tele-rallies instead, according to the Republican National Committee. The move came after Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked whether he was sick of travelling.
The RNC said Thursday that Trump is scrapping two of his last midterm rallies, including in-person events in Salina, Kansas, on Saturday and Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday, according to Dawn (PK). NBC News reported that Saturday’s event would have been in Dubuque. The RNC said Trump will instead hold a "large number" of virtual "telerallies" across a series of states.
MAGA Inc said it would host tele-rallies with Trump in at least 19 states, including Kansas and Iowa, before Election Day. Two White House officials told NBC News that Trump aims to hold "more than 20" tele-rallies by Election Day. Neither figure has been independently confirmed, and no details on the schedule or format were given.
According to Dawn (PK), Trump told the reporter, "You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape, you look like hell," after the reporter asked if he was sick of travelling. Trump said he felt "perfect." NBC News reported that a White House official and a person familiar confirmed the Kansas and Iowa appearances were off, hours after the exchange, when the reporter had asked whether the cancellation was tied to his health. The RNC says the events were canceled to maximize opportunities for Trump to speak to voters and because Republicans are in a strong position in both states.
Trump told NBC News he did not "feel I have to go to Kansas" and said Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who is in a tight race with Democrat Adam Hamilton, "is doing well." NBC News reports that concerns over high costs tied to the war in Iran have made the Kansas Senate race a toss-up in a state that has not sent a Democrat to the Senate for nearly a century.
Trump has hosted 25 rallies in 19 states since October 1. On Monday in Mississippi, he said with a hoarse voice, "God didn’t make your vocal cords to do a rally every day."
Trump is still scheduled to campaign in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday, for Rep. Randy Fine and Sen. Ashley Moody, according to NBC News. No event has been announced for Monday, and the schedule beyond Friday is unclear. The midterms will determine whether Republicans keep narrow control of the Senate and House.
The key details of the cancellations rely mainly on Dawn (PK) and NBC News. Al Jazeera’s report was limited to a headline and short excerpt, so it is cited only for the quoted insult. The White House and RNC have not responded to the NBC News report about the official’s confirmation.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.