Reporters asked Donald Trump on Thursday whether the grind of the campaign trail had worn him down. His answer quickly turned to Kansas.
“You’re sick to ask that question,” Trump responded, “I’m not going to Kansas because [Marshall] is doing really well.”
He kept going. “I don’t feel like I have to go to Kansas, I’m going to Florida tomorrow,” Trump said.
Then he addressed the reporter directly. “You’ve been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect. You are disgusting, you look like hell,” he said before walking off.
Now the president has dropped two Saturday rallies from his schedule.
The cancellations hit the stops in Salina, Kansas, and Dubuque, Iowa, with the November 3 midterm elections only days away.
The Salina event was built around Republican Senator Roger Marshall, who is in a tighter re-election race than expected.
Trump will stay at Mar-a-Lago and campaign by phone.
The White House confirmed he will host at least 20 virtual tele-rallies before Election Day, aimed at voters in Texas, Kansas, Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
A White House spokesperson defended the switch.
“These events give him the opportunity to highlight his accomplishments and expand his reach across the country,” the spokesperson said.
CBS News reported the logic behind it: to “maximize Trump’s time and reach as many voters as possible… [as] tele-rallies allow him to cover more ground.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters told the Associated Press the push will pay off. “This 72-hour sprint will be a huge boost in the closing days,” he said.
Marshall offered his own read when reporters asked about the cancellation.
“it might do with [how] I’m doing so well in the polls,” the senator said, adding that Trump “probably got better places to spend his time.”
A CNN poll released Monday gave a different picture of the Kansas race. It placed Marshall four percentage points behind Hamilton.
The same poll found Democrats ahead in Texas, Kansas, Maine and Michigan. In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson led Republican Senator Susan Collins 49 percent to 45 percent.
Michigan showed a wider gap.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed held a 49 percent to 42 percent lead over Republican Mike Rogers. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico led Republican Ken Paxton by the same 49 to 43 margin.
The survey also measured the president’s standing. Disapproval of Trump reached 61 percent in Maine, its highest mark among the states polled, and fell to 45 percent in Kansas, the lowest.
In Texas, 56 percent disapproved of his job performance, a group that included 13 percent of Republicans.
A rolling tracker of registered voters from Civiqs shows Trump’s approval rating below 50 percent in nearly every battleground state.
In Michigan, 59 percent of those polled disapprove, including 13 percent of Republicans.
Polling has missed before. The final CNN/SSRS survey of the 2024 presidential race showed Kamala Harris ahead in Michigan and Wisconsin and tied in Pennsylvania. Harris lost all three.
Trump has held a rally almost every day heading into the midterms.
Tight Senate contests in states Republicans have long held have taken him to South Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi, Texas, Ohio and Florida.
In Rock Hill, South Carolina, he campaigned for Darline Graham, who is running for the seat of her late brother, Senator Lindsey Graham.
Lindsey Graham died in July at age 71. “I’m asking you to do me one favor – pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump told the crowd.
His schedule still includes in-person stops.
Trump returns to Florida on Friday to support Representative Byron Donalds’ run for governor and Senator Ashley Moody’s Senate bid.
He is also expected back in Michigan before Election Day, though no rally has been officially announced.
