WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has rescheduled campaign rallies in two pivotal Midwestern states after previously calling off the weekend events, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Trump is now set to hold back-to-back rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, the person said. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity because the schedule had not yet been publicly announced.
The abrupt changes reflected the unsettled final stretch of the midterm campaign, as Trump and Republicans work to preserve their congressional majorities. The election has centered largely on affordability and the president’s favorability. Trump began the month promising a marathon of his trademark rallies to support Republican candidates and has headlined 25 events in October.
On Thursday, Trump angrily rejected suggestions that the cancellation of his Kansas rally was related to exhaustion or his health. News of the cancellation emerged as he was returning to Washington from another campaign appearance in South Carolina. He also bristled at a reporter’s question about the event in Kansas, where Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is seeking reelection.
“I’m not going to Kansas because he’s doing very well,” Trump said, apparently referring to Marshall. The president added, “I feel perfect” and “I don’t feel I have to go to Kansas.”
When the Republican National Committee announced the cancellations, it said Trump would instead conduct telerallies to reach voters. The person familiar with the updated schedule said the Iowa and Kansas appearances were rearranged to make room for additional telerallies added to Trump’s calendar.
Trump’s original itinerary called for a Saturday rally in Salina, Kansas, followed by a Sunday event in Dubuque, Iowa. The revised plan initially replaced those appearances with a “72-hour sprint” of phone rallies designed to let Trump reach voters across the country, according to the RNC.
Republican officials have not disclosed the telerally schedule. Such events cost considerably less than in-person rallies and generally feature Trump speaking for about 10 minutes, often from a script, to hundreds or thousands of people who call in. That format is far shorter than the roughly 90-minute, freewheeling remarks he frequently delivers at live appearances.
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Sunday’s Iowa rally will take place in Cedar Rapids rather than Dubuque, according to another person familiar with the plans. That person also spoke anonymously because the information had not yet been made public.
Trump will now hold both the Iowa and Kansas rallies on Sunday. Each state features a competitive Senate race that could help determine whether Republicans retain control of the chamber after the midterm elections.
Trump has visited both states this month, campaigning for Marshall in Kansas and Ashley Hinson, the Republican Senate candidate in Iowa who currently serves in the House.
Vice President JD Vance visited Kansas earlier this week to campaign with Marshall and traveled to Iowa in September to support the party’s House candidates. Vance’s office had also said he would travel to St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Friday for a news conference about his anti-fraud efforts. However, a person familiar with his plans said that appearance was canceled because of a scheduling change.
During a Friday morning interview with a Kansas City radio station, Trump described Marshall as “fantastic.” He praised the senator for pressing his administration on policies intended to benefit Kansas farmers, including an expansion of tax-free use for red-dyed diesel.
Trump also attacked Marshall’s Democratic opponent, Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton, calling him a “radical” who has “caused turmoil with the church because he’s so liberal.” Hamilton has said that if Jesus were standing before them today, “Roger Marshall would call him ‘woke.’”
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