Atlanta: US President Donald Trump revived two midterm election rallies the day after cancelling them in an abrupt change of strategy at the end of a long campaign.
Trump will travel to the Midwest states of Kansas and Iowa for in-person rallies on Sunday (US time), where Republicans are fighting to hold seats in the US Senate.
“Rallies are BACK ON!” a White House official said on Friday. “President Trump loves his supporters, and in addition to nearly 20 tele-rallies, he will hold back-to-back rallies in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday.”
The reversal came less than 24 hours after the Republican National Committee announced Trump’s scheduled rallies would not take place because the party was in a strong position in both those states, and the president would focus on telephone events.
Trump has held rallies nearly every day since the start of October , criss-crossing the country on his taxpayer-funded plane and appearing mostly in red states, or swing states such as Michigan, where Senate contests are especially close.
On Thursday, the president unleashed on a reporter who asked whether the Kansas rally had been cancelled because he was “sick of travel”. He appeared to interpret the question as an indictment of his health.
“You’re sick to ask that question,” Trump told Reuters reporter Jacob Bogage. “Look at this guy, he’s way out of shape. Look at how badly … You are disgusting, put yourself in shape, you look like hell.”
Later, an official White House account, Rapid Response 47, posted screenshots taken from Bogage’s personal Instagram page that showed him tasting snacks in a car. The video had been from an unflattering low angle. “Sloppy!” the White House said.
Trump, 80, denied he had any issues keeping up with the travel schedule: “You’ve been following me for two weeks; I feel perfect.”
The decision to resurrect the rallies comes as polls suggested Democrats were ahead in Kansas, though within the margin of error. A CNN/SSRS poll had the Republican incumbent Roger Marshall trailing Democrat Adam Hamilton 45-49, in a state that has not sent a Democrat to the US Senate in 94 years.
Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control of the Senate, with 35 up for re-election this year. It is widely expected Democrats will gain control of the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a slim majority.
Meanwhile, Leo XIV became the first Pope to vote in a US election. The Vatican confirmed the American Pope cast a mail-in ballot in Chicago, where he was born, adding that he had always exercised his right to vote whenever he was eligible to do so.
The final stages of the midterm election campaign have been dominated by discourse around Trump’s rally appearances and a bombshell New York Times story revealing the Democrats recruited a so-called “decoy” candidate in Alaska with the same name as the incumbent Republican senator.
The Department of Justice is suing the state of Alaska to block certification of the election results in the event Republican Dan Sullivan loses, arguing voters will be confused by the appearance of “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr” on their ballot paper.
The paper clearly distinguishes between Dan Sullivan the incumbent Republican and the unaffiliated challenger. Calling into a Kansas City radio station on Friday, Trump suggested voters in Alaska would not understand what the word “incumbent” meant.
“You need about 190 IQ to figure out the ballot,” he said. “Most people don’t know in Alaska – in a lot of other states too – what does ‘incumbent’ mean? They don’t know what ‘incumbent’ means.”
Alaska judge Sharon Gleason set the federal government a Friday afternoon (US time) deadline to respond to the state’s request to dismiss the legal challenge, with a reply deadline set for Saturday. The election is on Tuesday.
In some recent rally appearances, Trump has sounded hoarse. He has also attracted attention for occasional vocal slip-ups and his focus on men’s bodies, especially the Republican senator from Ohio, Jon Husted.
But the president is doubling down on the routine. On Thursday, he posted a TikTok video praising Husted’s physique.
“Nobody knew this – [he was] one of the best football players around, all American,” Trump said. “And I told the people – they didn’t know this – he has a great ass. Very powerful ass. His shoulders, his hands, his arms … Ohio loves strong football players, vote for Jon Husted.”
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