(The Hill) — President Donald Trump will hold in-person rallies in Iowa and Kansas after all, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill.
The Thursday announcement that he would shift to tele-rallies in the battleground states stirred speculation about the president’s reason for scaling back his midterm travel schedule.
The rallies were rearranged for scheduling purposes to accommodate dozens of additional tele-rallies recently added to the president’s schedule, the source said.
The Kansas rally was initially scheduled for Saturday and Iowa for Sunday. Both will now be held on Sunday.
The Republican National Committee said on Thursday that the change in Trump’s plans would allow him to have a wider audience in the final days by holding more tele-rallies for candidates across the country.
The initial move was seen as a major reversal in strategy from Trump and his GOP allies, who have put on dozens of in-person rallies featuring Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Trump snapped at a reporter on Thursday for asking him whether the change was because the president was sick of traveling.
“You’re sick to ask that question,” Trump said, going on to insult the reporter’s appearance.
Iowa and Kansas are seen as key midterm battlegrounds where Republicans have appeared to lose ground this election cycle as a result of disapproval of Trump and his handling of the economy.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated both races as toss-ups.
A CNN poll released on Thursday showed incumbent Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall (R) trailing Democrat Adam Hamilton by four points, while an Emerson College/The Hill poll released earlier this month showed Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) leading Democrat Josh Turek by two points.
Both races have consistently polled within the margin of error.
