By Basant El-Faramawy
With days remaining before what polls indicate will be a brutal midterm election for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, the president has reversed a decision to cancel campaign rallies in Kansas and Iowa, opting instead to hold back-to-back events on Sunday in support of Senate candidates Roger Marshall and Ashley Hinson.
Sudden schedule change
The White House announced Friday that the rallies were back on, less than 24 hours after aides said Trump would skip the Midwestern swing and rely on tele-rallies — large-scale conference calls for supporters — to drive turnout. The reversal followed a testy exchange with a reporter on Thursday.
Midterm campaign blitz
Trump, 80, has spent all or part of 23 days this month barnstorming traditionally Republican states where his preferred Senate candidates are in danger of losing. He held three rallies in Texas for embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton, three in Ohio for incumbent Jon Husted, and visited Mississippi where Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith faces a competitive race. His approval ratings have sunk near 30 percent.
Republican concerns
Operatives outside the White House say Trump's presence has done little to boost candidates and may energize Democratic voters. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted on X that Iowa and Kansas Republicans had been scrambling to keep Trump away from their states.
Outburst and reversal
As Trump prepared to board Air Force One after a South Carolina rally Thursday, a Reuters reporter asked if he was "sick" of the road. Trump lashed out, saying he did not feel he had to go to Kansas and called the reporter "disgusting." Within hours, a source said the rallies were reinstated because Trump "loves his supporters." Another person close to the president said the initial cancellation came because the candidates did not want him, but Trump could not handle the question about why.
White House explanation
The White House claimed the canceled and revived rallies were merely rearranged to accommodate dozens of additional tele-rallies. Trump has boasted on Truth Social that his recent rallies drew the biggest crowds in midterm history.
