'28 days in a row of this crap is a lot.' Trump weighs in on midterm rallies - USA Today
President Donald Trump said that he had expected an Oct. 30 rally in Florida to be the final event of his midterm blitz, and while his voice is operating at "49.2%," he is indeed going to Iowa and Kansas this weekend.
"I thought this was going to be my last one, Byron, I thought this was it," Trump said at the Florida rally, referring to Republican gubernational candidate, Rep. Byron Donalds. "I thought I could relax. 28 days of this crap is a lot,"
The Republican National Committee announced this week that his Saturday, Oct. 31 rally in Kansas and Sunday, Nov. 1 rally in Iowa would be cancelled.
At the time, polling showed tight Senate races in both states that traditionally go Republican, and after pushback, Trump announced he would head to the midwestern stops on Sunday. He addressed the schedule changes to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Oct. 30, saying he received calls from Republicans in both states asking him to come.
"Then they called me in Iowa, and they called me in Kansas, and they said, 'Sir, would it be possible to do a little rally of about 50,000 people each?' and I said, 'Does it matter,'" Trump said to the Florida crowd. "They said 'we just want to make sure that we win.'"
On Oct. 29, Trump additionally lashed out at a reporter from Reuters who asked him about the cancelled rallies.
Only a few days away from Election Day, Republicans are increasingly playing defense to maintain their 53-47 majority in the Senate and 218-214 majority in the House of Representatives. Political experts project that Democrats will win control of at least the House of Representatives, and the party that will control the Senate hinges on a short list of Senate races – including Kansas and Iowa.
In his midterm blitz ahead of his Friday in Florida, Trump traveled through South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Michigan and Georgia. He also visited Florida the previous Saturday, Oct. 24, to cast his own votes in the election.
The Republican defense has brought Trump to states, like Nebraska, Alaska, South Carolina, Iowa and Kansas, which are typically seen as safer wins for Republicans.
