WASHINGTON (Azat TV) — President Donald Trump will no longer hold planned in-person rallies in Kansas and Iowa ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, the Republican National Committee announced on Thursday, October 29, 2026. Citing tightening polling numbers and broader risks to the party’s congressional majority, the sudden schedule shift scales back a grueling travel routine that has placed the 80-year-old president on the road for weeks.
According to the RNC statement reported by the New York Times, the canceled events included a Saturday rally in Kansas for Senator Roger Marshall and a Sunday event in Iowa for Representative Ashley Hinson, who is locked in a competitive Senate race. The committee insisted that the rallies were dropped because Republican candidates were performing well enough locally to forgo an in-person presidential visit, even as public surveys indicate the party’s legislative control is increasingly vulnerable.
Shifting Strategy and Health Inquiries
The announcement followed a tense exchange earlier in the day when Mr. Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked if the cancellations were linked to health concerns following weeks of demanding, multi-hour campaign appearances. “You’ve been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect,” Mr. Trump told reporters on his way back from a rally in South Carolina, calling the inquiry inappropriate after months of near-daily travel.
Instead of appearing live, Mr. Trump is scheduled to participate in tele-rallies for candidates in Kansas and Iowa. While tele-rallies allow the president to address multiple events in a single evening, political analysts note they lack the scale and direct audience engagement that have defined his traditional campaign style. The president remains scheduled to hold an in-person rally in Florida on Friday.
High Stakes as Midterms Approach
The withdrawal from ruby-red territory highlights unexpected vulnerabilities for the GOP as voters express deep frustration over the economy and the ongoing war in Iran. Although the RNC maintains that local candidates do not require presidential intervention, recent polling complicates that narrative. A CNN survey published on Thursday showed Senator Marshall trailing his Democratic challenger, Adam Hamilton, by four points in Kansas, with other surveys pointing to similarly tight margins.
Democrats are actively seeking to capitalize on voter discontent to flip control of Congress, expanding battleground maps into conservative strongholds where Republicans never anticipated needing late-October presidential rescues. As early voting surges across multiple states, both parties are locking in their final closing arguments ahead of Tuesday’s decisive ballots.