Trump Scraps Kansas and Iowa Rallies for a 72-Hour Tele-Rally Blitz Across 19 States
President Donald Trump is not slowing down before Tuesday's midterms. He is just changing how he reaches voters.
The Republican National Committee announced Thursday that the president will hold tele-rallies across 19 states in what the party calls a "72-hour sprint" to Election Day, after he canceled weekend appearances in Kansas and Iowa. More stops could be added before the polls close.
The list so far includes Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
"Voters across the country want to hear from President Trump before Election Day," RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said.
The president had been scheduled to rally Saturday in Salina, Kansas, and Sunday at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, The Hill reported. The RNC said Republicans were in a strong enough position in both states to justify the change.
Trump put it more plainly.
"I don't feel like I have to go to Kansas," he told reporters, saying Sen. Roger Marshall was "doing very well" in his race against Democrat Adam Hamilton.
The polling there is closer than that suggests. A CNN/SSRS survey released Thursday had Hamilton up four points, within the margin of error. In Iowa, an Emerson College/Nexstar poll had Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson leading Democrat Josh Turek by two, also within the margin.
"I feel perfect"
The format lets the president reach several states in the time it would take to fly to one. He is expected to do more than 20 phone events, each lasting roughly 10 minutes, a fraction of the 90-minute speeches he often gives at rallies.
The change follows a grueling month. Trump has held 25 rallies in 19 states since October 1 as Republicans work to protect their narrow majorities, and he sounded hoarse at a rally in Mississippi on Monday, joking that "God didn't make your vocal cords to do a rally every day."
When a reporter asked Thursday whether the cancellations had to do with how he was feeling, Trump shut it down.
"You've been following me for two weeks," he said. "I feel perfect."
The president is not off the road entirely. He had just returned from South Carolina and was still scheduled to appear in person Friday in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Trump has made himself the centerpiece of the Republican closing argument, pressing immigration, taxes, energy and the economy while urging his 2024 voters to come back for GOP candidates, with competitive Senate races in states including Kansas, Ohio and Alaska. He told reporters Thursday that he expects "a strong Tuesday night."