President Donald Trump gestures during a campaign rally at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center October 29, 2026 in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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President Trump was comparing the size of his 2016 campaign rally to that independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was hosting that year, when the president took a detour.
“We have the greatest rallies in history,” Trump said, moving from boasting to thinking. “I hope you enjoy it because you’ll never see it again. You’ll never see what we did. You’ll never see this happen again.”
Trump was in South Carolina to promote two Senate candidates he personally chose but who have struggled to generate enthusiasm among Republican voters: Darline Graham in South Carolina and Michael Whatley in North Carolina.
It was one of Trump’s final rallies following a series of midterm campaign events over the past month. More than 25 rallies in October alone, mostly in red states where Republicans face serious political difficulties. The official goal is to help Republicans win elections, but for a president whose hallmark has always been large, noisy rallies, there was more to be done.
Trump will no longer be on the ballot and once these midterm elections are over, it’s unclear how many Republican candidates will want voters to pretend he is. But for now, this is his plea.
“Please pretend I’m on the ballot, because they want to end all the great things we’ve done. The tax cuts, the border,” Trump said last week at a rally in Greenville, North Carolina.
Like any artist participating in what could be a farewell tour, Trump is playing many of the biggest hits. He regularly has discussions about prices.
“Tariffs. Tariffs. My favorite word,” Trump said in Lubbock, Texas. “I always say that, but I had to change it to fifth favorite. You heard me say that. I said it was my favorite word. It made us rich.”
But there are new ones, too, like Ohio Sen. Jon Husted’s instant classic on the butt, which, once Trump made fun of it, he kept repeating everywhere he went.
“So I’m studying him and I made the mistake of saying I started by studying his butt,” Trump said. “I just wanted to see.”
This wasn’t just a key argument in Ohio, where perhaps some voters might be won over by the idea of ​​a senator with a well-built behind.
“The crowd loved it. In fact, (Husted) won by 12 points that day,” Trump said confidently despite evidence to the contrary. “It went from low to high.”
He even talked about Husted’s butt in Texas, where Trump’s criticism of Senate candidate Ken Paxton’s appearance has been less than complimentary.
“Maybe I should do this with Ken Paxton, but I’m not sure your body qualifies,” Trump said with a laugh.
In conclusion, Trump’s message is unconventional to say the least. Useless may be a better description. Even the $5,000 “Trump dividend” he promises to all American adults if Republicans win the House and Senate comes with the wrong message.
“You’ll be my guest at Mar-a-Lago,” Trump mused. “The problem is that for $5,000, the most you can buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert. I’m not even sure you can buy that.”
Trump added that Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort, is not an ideal place for those who are cost-conscious.
In a year where affordability is a top issue, this is a performance for the Trump faithful, who love it.
Blake Marnell, wearing a suit with a brick-like pattern, is seen as President Trump speaks at a midterm campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina, October 20, 2026.
Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images
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Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images
Blake Marnell is often one of the first people through the doors at Trump rallies. He’s from San Diego, but he was in Greenville, North Carolina, for the Trump rally there.
“I took October off thinking there would be a few gatherings, because it turned out there were a ton,” Marnell said. “I just go from rally to rally. Some people like to go on cruises. I like political rallies.”
Marnell isn’t just any Trump fan. He is famous for his dedication, always in the front row, wearing a suit meant to be a tribute to Trump’s campaign promise to build the wall. His alter ego is “Brick Suit”.
“But President Trump calls me Mr. Wall,” Marnell said.
Shouting “Mr. Wall” is a regular feature of a Trump rally, along with “Front Row Joe’s” and “the lovely ladies of North Carolina.” It’s all part of the show.
Marnell is certain Trump will hold more rallies before the 2028 presidential election, but he says these midterm rallies have been different than when Trump was actually on the ballot.
Cindy New, of Emerald Isle, North Carolina, said she voted for Trump three times but never saw him live. As the Greenville rally approaches, she said she’s just hoping for a good show.
“He can’t run anymore, they say, so I guess I have to come while he gets closer,” New said. “I missed all the others, so I have to come see it once. I don’t have to but once. Once and it’s done.”
Trump’s rally that evening included an Air Force One flyover and a nearly two-hour speech from the president — the complete experience.
In Fort Myers, Florida, Valérie Thivierge showed up dazzled. She had also never attended a Trump rally before, although she owns a store in town dedicated to him. She closed her store for the rally “of course.”
“This is our life. This is what we do all year and I want to see it,” Thivierge said.
According to Trump, it’s the people who are the reason he continues to hold rallies. At a recent event in the Oval Office, he said it wasn’t easy to stand there for two hours “ranting and raving.”
“There are crowds,” Trump said. “There’s a lot of love in these pieces.”
On Thursday, the Republican National Committee announced that Trump would cancel two planned weekend rallies in Iowa and Kansas. Instead, they said, he would hold a series of tele-rallies, a way to reach the party faithful more effectively with just days before voting ends.
Less than 24 hours later, in-person gatherings were back, now both scheduled for Sunday.
“President Trump loves his supporters, and in addition to nearly 20 tele-rallies, he will hold back-to-back rallies in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday,” said a source familiar with the schedule change who was not authorized to speak on the record.
Trump’s time at the center of the political universe is coming to an end, but he continues to play the hits. And the most loyal fans continue to arrive.
“We’ve been doing this together for 11 years and there’s never been anything like this and there’ll probably never be anything like this again, politically or otherwise,” Trump said at the close of a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas. “So let’s go out and do what we do best. Let’s win on November 3. We have to win.”
President Trump dances to music as he arrives for a campaign rally October 30, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
There is affection in these final days but also exhaustion, especially as the president faces an election that may not go well for his party. Friday night in Daytona Beach, Florida, at what would have been his final rally, Trump mixed bitterness with nostalgia.
“I thought that was it. I thought I could relax. 28 days straight of all this bullshit is a lot. It’s a lot,” Trump said.
“My voice works at about 49.2%,” he added.
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