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Sunday | November 01, 2026 | Dhaka

Trump shifts rally plans as midterms near

 AFP
 Published: 12:02 AM, 01 November 2026

President Donald Trump on Friday insisted Republicans “have a shot” at success in the US midterms despite a feverish end to the campaign for elections that will decide control of Congress.

Trump reversed course and reinstated two rallies in Kansas and Iowa a day after canceling them, a move which had raised questions about his health and about the state of the race.

“There’s such love in these all over the country,” Trump said referring to his rallies, before rattling off a series of insults against Democratic candidates vying for House and Senate seats in the November 3 elections.

Speaking late Friday to a crowd in Daytona, Florida, Trump said the rallies were being held “for one very simple reason: to stop America-hating communists from taking over the United States Congress.”

Trump reiterated his promise to give every adult American citizen $5,000 if Republicans retain control of both Congressional chambers.

Experts have questioned whether he has the legal authority to do that.Earlier in the day, Trump acknowledged to reporters that sitting presidents’ parties often suffer in midterm elections.

“I think we have a shot at doing well. Maybe very well, but you know, pretty well,” he added.

Trump said that he had canceled the two events to hold virtual rallies but that Republicans in Iowa and Kansas called “and they said if you could go, it would be better than a tele-rally.” But the 80-year-old’s comments were far from a robust assessment of Republican chances in next Tuesday’s vote.

Republicans are defending their 53-47 majority in the Senate, while Democrats are seeking to capture at least one chamber of Congress and curb Trump’s legislative agenda during his final two years in office.

Trump has put himself at the center of the Republicans’ midterm strategy, hoping it will fire up his MAGA (Make America Great Again) base.

But his Trump’s dismal approval ratings and public anger over the Iran war and the cost of living may be a drag on Republican chances.

Trump, who complained of losing his voice earlier this week, had lashed out on Thursday when he was asked if he was scrapping the Kansas trip because he was “sick of traveling.””I feel perfect,” Trump snapped, saying he no longer needed to visit Kansas because Republican Senator Roger Marshall was “doing very well.”