RNC Replaces Trump's Iowa and Kansas Rallies With Phone Calls
The party plans telerallies in nearly 20 states to reach voters in the campaign's final days.
By Layla Richardson ·
President Donald Trump canceled scheduled weekend rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Thursday, replacing them with telephone events the Republican National Committee said would reach voters in nearly 20 states. The party planned to hold telerallies during a "72-hour sprint" in the final days of the midterm campaign, with the possibility of additional states being added.
The shift marked a change from Trump's stated plan to hold rally after rally through Election Day. As of Thursday, he had held 25 rallies in October, below a goal he had set above 30. Telephone events require about 10 minutes of speaking, compared with more than 90 minutes at in-person gatherings.
Trump said he was not traveling to Kansas, where Sen. Roger Marshall faces Democrat Adam Hamilton, because Marshall is "doing very well." When a reporter asked whether the schedule change related to his health, Trump replied, "You've been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect." His voice had grown raspy, and he told a crowd in Corinth, Mississippi, on Monday, "God didn't make your vocal cords to do a rally every day." A campaign strategist with Republican Senate leadership, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said there was widespread curiosity about the change.
In South Carolina, Trump appeared for the second time this month in a state that has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly three decades. Darline Graham was appointed in July by Gov. Henry McMaster to fill the remaining months of the term held by her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and became the party's nominee in August for a full six-year term. Trump promoted her as his successor, saying of Lindsey Graham, "He was a great politician," and adding of Darline Graham, "She's got the gene."
Graham's opponent, pediatrician Annie Andrews, appeared in Fort Mill on Wednesday and told voters that if they elect her and are unhappy with her work, "you can fire me in six years." She has urged voters seeking change to "try something new for once." South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, who lost to Graham in the party's primary runoff and has declined to campaign with her, has called her unqualified and said the race is closer than it would have been had he been nominated. Lonnie Dean Johnson of Sumter, who supported Norman in the primary, said he was voting for Graham out of party loyalty: "She's on a Republican ticket. I, by and large, support the Republican platform."
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday. The White House has not published his schedule for Monday, the final day of the campaign.
