President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled planned weekend campaign stops in Kansas and Iowa, with his allies saying he would instead phone in to events nationwide after four weeks of travel to boost Republicans’ chances in the midterm elections.
“I’m not going to Kansas because he’s doing very well,” Trump told reporters upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday, referring to Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican.
“I’m going to do a tele-rally.
“We are going to have a strong Tuesday night.”
Marshall is running for reelection against Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton.
Kansas has turned into a battleground state as Hamilton, a United Methodist megachurch pastor, gains ground in the polls against Marshall. Republicans have held this seat for 94 years.
Later on Thursday, the Republican National Committee (RNC) said in a statement that it would also cancel a planned rally in Iowa. The canceled in-person events were set for Salina, Kansas, on Saturday and Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday.
MAGA Inc., a campaign funding group aligned with Trump, said on Thursday it would host a series of “tele-rallies” with the president in at least 19 states, including Alabama, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and Virginia. The RNC said that additional events may be announced.
The president told the reporters at Joint Base Andrews that he would attend a rally in Florida on Friday and possibly more events before Tuesday’s election.
Weeks of Near-Daily Rallies
Since Oct. 1, Trump has hosted 25 rallies in 19 states, often speaking for his party in rural areas of Republican-friendly states. The schedule has included near-daily events, with multiple rallies on some days, including two in Texas on Tuesday. He returned to South Carolina on Thursday.
In Chillicothe, Ohio, on Wednesday, he told an audience of approximately 2,500, “If you can get out to vote, we’re going to have a tremendous victory.”
In Corinth, Mississippi, on Monday, he told about 8,000 supporters, “I’m here because Cindy’s doing great, but I just got to make sure. I can’t take a chance.” Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) is running against prosecutor Scott Colom, a Democrat, and Ty Pinkins, an independent.
Control of Congress at Stake
The outcome of the midterm elections will determine whether Republicans retain narrow control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Some polls and prediction markets have Democrats favored to capture control of both chambers on Nov. 3.
In Iowa on Oct. 22, Trump told supporters in Sioux City, “If they win the midterms, it’s the start of something very bad, very dark, very horrible for our country.”
Travis Gillmore and Reuters contributed to this report.
