Washington — US President Donald Trump has reinstated two campaign rallies in Kansas and Iowa a day after cancelling them, as he insisted that Republicans "have a shot" in Tuesday's midterm elections despite poor approval ratings and a record early-voting turnout that has seen registered Democrats outpace Republicans in key battleground states.
The Cancellation and Reversal
Trump had initially scrapped in-person rallies scheduled for the weekend in Kansas and Iowa, with the Republican National Committee saying the president was pivoting to telephone rallies, known as "tele-rallies," in order to reach voters across nearly 20 states over the weekend.
Addressing the Kansas cancellation on Thursday, Trump said: "I don't feel I have to go to Kansas," adding that Republican Senator Roger Marshall was "doing very well." When asked whether he was cancelling the trip because he was "sick of traveling," Trump snapped back: "I feel perfect." The cancellations came amid questions about the president's health, after he complained earlier in the week of losing his voice.
On Friday, October 30, the White House reversed its decision. A source close to the administration said Trump would now attend both events in person on Sunday, rather than visiting Kansas on Saturday and Iowa on Sunday as originally planned, with the revised schedule designed to accommodate additional tele-rallies alongside the in-person appearances. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office while hosting Stephen Hubbard, a US detainee recently freed by Russia, Trump said the Republican officials in both states had asked him to reconsider. He said he had cancelled the events to hold virtual rallies, but that Republicans in Iowa and Kansas called "and they said if you could go, it would be better than a tele-rally."
Some Republican operatives in both states had quietly expressed relief at the original cancellations, according to CNN reporting, reflecting the complicated political dynamics of a presidential appearance in competitive races where the president's approval ratings have been a drag.
Trump said Republicans "have a shot" at success on Tuesday, though he acknowledged the historical headwinds facing the president's party: "Typically, a president, whether he's good or bad, Republican or Democrat, loses the midterms." He later said "we are going to have a strong Tuesday night."
Why Kansas and Iowa Matter
Both Kansas and Iowa voted comfortably for Trump in 2024 but have emerged as unexpected battlegrounds this cycle. In Kansas, Senator Roger Marshall faces a competitive challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton, in a state that has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932. In Iowa, Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is in a close race against Democrat Josh Turek. Their competitiveness underscores the broader difficulty Republicans face defending seats in states that were previously considered safe.
A record 47.9 million Americans have already voted in the midterms, with participation surging in key battleground states and registered Democrats outpacing Republicans among early voters, according to figures released Friday. The surge reflects intense public interest in elections that will decide control of both chambers of Congress.
Reporting on the campaign's final days has pointed to Trump's low approval ratings, public anger over the cost of living, and public discontent over the war with Iran as factors weighing on Republican prospects. Meanwhile, a legal dispute threatens to delay the outcome of the Senate race in Alaska, raising the possibility that final control of the chamber may not be known on election night.
Legal and Constitutional Framework
The midterm elections take place under the framework of Article I of the US Constitution, which provides that all 435 members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years, while Senators serve staggered six-year terms with roughly one-third of Senate seats contested in each biennial election.
The timing of Election Day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, is set by federal statute, while the administration of elections, including the rules governing early in-person voting and mail-in ballots, is primarily determined by individual state law under the Constitution's Elections Clause, which delegates to states the authority to prescribe the "times, places and manner" of congressional elections, subject to Congress's power to alter such rules by federal law.
The right of candidates, including a sitting president, to campaign through rallies and public events is protected by the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech and assembly. There is no constitutional or statutory requirement that a president hold in-person campaign events, and the decision of how to allocate campaign time and resources, including the use of telephone rallies in place of in-person visits, is a matter of political strategy rather than legal obligation.
