President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was canceling his rallies in Kansas and Iowa this weekend, where he was scheduled to introduce himself to Republican candidates in competitive races, preferring to hold tele-rallies.
The rallies were to be part of his midterm campaign blitz, during which he said he would travel to 35 locations across the country to help increase turnout for Republican candidates.
Trump has repeatedly touted what he sees as the positive impact of his rallies on Republican candidates, going so far as to suggest that his presence in battleground states has favored Republicans in the polls.
But his tone seemed to change Thursday after his cancellations. Trump said he didn’t “feel like I had to go to Kansas,” adding that he thought Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who is in a tight race with Democrat Adam Hamilton, was “doing well.”
Concerns about the high costs of the war in Iran helped turn the race into a tie in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly a century.
Trump, who campaigned at 25 rallies last month, admitted the blitz hasn’t been “easy,” saying hoarsely Monday that “God didn’t make your vocal chords to do a rally every day.”
But he insisted Thursday that he felt “perfect” and lashed out at a reporter who pressed him on whether the cancellation of the rally in Kansas was linked to his health.
“You’ve been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect. You’re disgusting. Get in shape. You look like hell,” Trump told the reporter.
He canceled in Iowa hours after that interaction, after a White House official and someone familiar confirmed that Trump’s appearance was not good.
The Republican National Committee said in a press release that the rallies were canceled in an effort to “maximize opportunities for President Donald J. Trump to speak to voters across the country.”
GOP operatives in Iowa, where all but one congressional election this year is competitive, told NBC News that in-person rallies would have been helpful. Trump’s Saturday rally would have taken place in Dubuque, in the contested 2nd Congressional District.
“A tele-rally would be helpful in increasing participation, but an in-person rally would have been very helpful,” one officer said.
Another operative said he “would love to have the president,” but added that “Iowa is in pretty good shape.”
Trump aims to hold “more than 20” tele-rallies between now and Election Day, two White House officials said Thursday.
He is still scheduled to hold an event in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Friday. He will campaign for Republican Rep. Randy Fine and Sen. Ashley Moody, who are running in races rated solidly Republican by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
No events have been announced for Monday.
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