Trump’s Final-Week Campaign Pivot Amid Tight Midterms

With less than five days remaining before the November 3, 2026, US midterm elections, President Donald Trump has cancelled planned campaign appearances in Iowa and Kansas and will instead take part in virtual “tele-rallies.” The Republican National Committee said the online events would reach voters in nearly 20 states, including battlegrounds where Senate races are competitive. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters described the format as an efficient way to reach more voters during the final campaign push. Trump’s Friday rally in Daytona Beach, Florida, is still scheduled to proceed. The election will determine control of Congress and several state and local offices. Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in both the House and Senate, and control of Congress would affect Trump’s legislative agenda during the final two years of his second term. Trump has warned that Democrats could seek to impeach him for a third time if they win both chambers. Polling and forecasts cited in the article suggest Democrats may have an advantage: Harvard University’s ElectIt model gives Democrats a 94 percent chance of winning the House and a 74 percent chance of taking the Senate, although the Senate contest is considered harder because fewer seats are up for election. Analysts point to Trump’s declining poll numbers and voter concerns about the cost of living, foreign policy, and other issues. The article also describes questions about Trump’s health and travel. After a South Carolina rally, he rejected a reporter’s suggestion that cancelling the Kansas stop might be related to travel fatigue, saying he felt “perfect” and insulting the journalist. Trump also questioned whether a visit to Salina, Kansas, was necessary. Kansas is usually a Republican stronghold, but Republican Senator Roger Marshall faces a close challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton. A CNN poll released Thursday showed Hamilton leading 49 percent to Marshall’s 45 percent.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance canceled several planned public appearances in the final days before the U.S. midterm elections, as Republicans face the possibility of losing control of Congress. Trump called off weekend rallies in Kansas and Iowa, where he had been scheduled to appear Saturday and Sunday, and will instead address voters by phone. The Republican National Committee said he would reach at least 19 states through a “72-hour sprint.” The canceled rallies had been part of a campaign blitz in which Trump said he planned to visit 35 locations to encourage Republican turnout. Trump has held 25 rallies this month and acknowledged the strain of the demanding schedule, saying after a rally in Mississippi that his vocal cords were not made for daily rallies. But after a Reuters reporter asked in South Carolina whether he was tired of traveling, Trump said, “I feel perfect.” The article does not state why the Kansas and Iowa appearances were canceled. Vance also canceled a Friday news conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where he had been scheduled to appear with other members of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud to discuss the administration’s “War on Fraud” effort. The reason for that cancellation was also unclear. The cancellations come as Trump’s approval rating has fallen to historic lows amid public frustration over high gasoline prices and the prolonged war with Iran. Election forecasters and prediction markets indicate Democrats are favored to win both chambers of Congress. An NBC News average of national polls found that 52% of respondents preferred Democratic control, compared with 43% who preferred Republican control. Trump remained scheduled to hold a rally in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday; no event had been announced for Monday, the final day of the campaign.

US President Donald Trump has reinstated campaign rallies in Iowa and Kansas, scheduling them for Sunday, just days before the November 3 midterm elections. A White House official said the events had been rearranged to accommodate tele-rallies recently added to Trump’s schedule. The official described the rallies as being “back on” and said Trump would hold nearly 20 tele-rallies as well as consecutive in-person events in the two states. The change follows Trump’s comments on Thursday that he did not feel he had to visit Kansas. The state’s Republican Senator Roger Marshall is facing an unexpectedly competitive contest against Democrat Adam Hamilton. Trump nevertheless expressed confidence in Marshall’s prospects, saying he was doing very well and predicting a strong result for Republicans on Tuesday night. Before the Sunday events, Trump is scheduled to campaign in Florida on Friday. Although he won the state handily in 2024, early voting this year has tilted toward Democrats, and the article characterizes the visit as an effort to galvanize his supporters. The Florida stop is part of a wider series of campaign appearances in states Republicans generally expect to win; Trump also held events earlier in the week in Mississippi and South Carolina. The article reports the schedule changes and campaign context without assessing their likely electoral effect.

Donald Trump has cancelled planned weekend campaign rallies in Iowa and Kansas and will instead participate in phone rallies intended to support Republican candidates across nearly 20 states. The shift comes in the final days before the 2026 midterm elections, as Republicans face close contests and try to retain control of Congress. The Republican National Committee described the phone campaign as a “72-hour sprint”; additional states may be included. Trump has held 25 rallies in October, below his earlier goal of more than 30, and is scheduled to appear in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday. He dismissed suggestions that health concerns prompted the cancellations, saying, “I feel perfect.” The article focuses on several competitive Senate races. In South Carolina, Trump recently campaigned for Darline Graham, who was appointed to the seat after her brother, Senator Lindsey Graham, died and later won the Republican nomination for a full term. She faces Democrat Annie Andrews. Economic concerns, high gas prices and the war in Iran have made the contest more competitive than expected. Trump praised Graham and criticized Andrews, who has urged voters to give her a chance. Close races are also underway in Texas, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa and Alaska, with both parties watching Mississippi. In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown is challenging Republican Senator Jon Husted, campaigning on living costs and accusing Husted of favoring big businesses. In Alaska, an investigation followed a New York Times report alleging that Mary Peltola’s campaign was involved in recruiting a candidate sharing Republican Senator Dan Sullivan’s name. The Justice Department has issued new grand jury subpoenas, according to a source familiar with the matter. Trump called the reported activity a conspiracy and urged that Peltola be removed from the ballot; she rejected the report as a distraction. The article concludes that both parties are intensifying their campaigns as control of Congress hangs in the balance.

The Al Jazeera Newsfeed item reports that US President Donald Trump criticized a reporter’s appearance during an exchange on a tarmac. The reporter had asked why Trump was not traveling to Kansas to campaign for the midterm elections. Trump responded, “You look like hell,” according to the headline and accompanying description. The item characterizes his response as lashing out, framing the exchange as a verbal tirade. It does not provide the reporter’s name, the exact location of the encounter, further details of the conversation, or Trump’s explanation for not going to Kansas. Nor does the supplied text include additional reactions or broader context about the campaign schedule. The article is dated October 30, 2026. Because the provided content is only a brief headline and description, the central reported event is limited to Trump’s remark and the question that preceded it; further details cannot be established from this text.

NPR’s Up First briefing covers the final days of the 2026 midterm campaign, a controversy in Alaska’s Senate race, U.S. military preparations concerning Iran, and problems facing veterans with VA-backed mortgages. President Trump has shifted some campaigning for vulnerable Republicans to virtual rallies, including 19 “telerallies.” NPR’s Saige Miller says the strategy and polling suggest Republicans could face difficulty in the House, and that Trump’s involvement could either motivate his supporters or energize Democrats. In Alaska, the governor ordered an investigation after a New York Times report described Democratic operatives trying to recruit a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. Republicans say the effort could confuse voters and divert support from Sullivan. Democrat Mary Peltola is seeking to win the seat. Election law experts cited by Alaska Public Media found no applicable laws but said the reported conduct raised moral and ethical concerns. The briefing also notes a Justice Department subpoena of Los Angeles election workers amid a dispute over efforts to identify noncitizens on voter rolls. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, a senior Pentagon planner and Joint Chiefs member, as the U.S. and Israel prepare for a possible new round of attacks on Iran. NPR reports that the Pentagon is investigating a leak but has not explained the dismissal. The U.S. has two aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea, with a third on its way—a deployment described as unusual. The briefing reports that more than 15,000 veterans whose VA-backed loans were modified after financial hardship saw monthly payments rise by at least $150, while over 700 faced increases of $1,000 or more. The increases followed the shutdown of the VA’s VASP program, which had helped struggling borrowers roll missed payments into low-interest mortgages, without a replacement in place. A further section explains NPR’s reporting on proposed changes to organ donation rules. Relaxing the separation between patient-care teams and organ-retrieval teams has raised concerns among bioethicists, surgeons, and advocates that treatment could be discontinued prematurely and public trust damaged. The newsletter concludes with weekend recommendations for a horror film, a television drama, and a book; the supplied text cuts off during the book listing.