Trump scraps Iowa and Kansas rallies for phone events, then heads to South Carolina

President Donald Trump has canceled a Sunday rally in Dubuque, Iowa, and a Saturday rally in Salina, Kansas. He will hold phone-based rallies, called telerallies, in their place ¹². The Republican National Committee announced the change Thursday evening ¹.

In a telerally, the president speaks by phone to supporters who have been called or signed up to listen. The RNC describes its effort as a three-day sprint ¹. The White House said Trump will hold more than 20 telerallies before Election Day ².

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Shorter events, fewer stops

The Associated Press reported that Trump is expected to speak for about 10 minutes at each telerally. At in-person rallies he speaks for more than 90 minutes ¹. He held 25 rallies in October, short of a goal he once set above 30 ¹.

He plans a rally Friday in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is unclear whether he will hold other in-person events before Tuesday ¹. HuffPost reported that the Florida stop is now his last scheduled midterm event ².

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On Kansas, Trump said Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican, "is doing very well" ². Newsweek reported that new polling shows Marshall trailing Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Methodist megachurch pastor. Trump carried Kansas by 16 percentage points in 2024 ³.

Asked whether his health was behind the change, Trump snapped, "You've been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect" ¹.

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South Carolina stop

Trump traveled to South Carolina on Thursday for the second time in a month ¹. HuffPost reported that he spoke at a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Oct. 29, his second rally in as many weeks ². The AP tied the trip to Republican worry about Sen. Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham ¹.

Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham in July after her brother's death. She became the GOP nominee in August and faces Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician ¹. Ralph Norman, who lost the primary runoff to Graham, has called her unqualified and refused to campaign with her ¹.

Andrews urged voters who want change to "try something new for once" ¹. No Democrat has won a South Carolina Senate seat in nearly three decades ¹.

What happens next

Polls close Tuesday. Trump's Friday event in Florida is the only in-person rally still on the schedule ².

HuffPost reported that polls suggest his rallies have not had the intended effect. Democratic challengers remain competitive in Iowa, Mississippi, Ohio, Alaska and Kansas ².

That matters because a president's travel shows where his party feels exposed. Trump held an Iowa rally in Sioux City on Oct. 22 and a Kansas rally in Wichita on Oct. 19 ². He is now pulling back from both states while adding a second South Carolina stop. The pattern is a campaign that is spending its final days defending ground it expected to hold.

The Record

1. Oct 19, 2026Trump held a rally in Wichita, Kansas ².
2. Oct 22, 2026Trump held a rally in Sioux City, Iowa ².
3. Oct 29, 2026The RNC announced a 72-hour telerally sprint, and Trump rallied in Rock Hill, South Carolina ¹².

Sources

1. AP, “Trump cancels rallies in Kansas and Iowa, opting for telerallies to reach more voters, RNC says” (2026-10-29). 2news.com/news/national/trump-cancels-rallies-in-kansas-and-
2. HuffPost, “Trump Cancels Weekend's Planned Rallies In Kansas And Iowa” (2026-10-29). huffpost.com/entry/trump-cancels-kansas-rally_n_6ae389cce4b0
3. Newsweek, “Trump Cancels Kansas Rally as New Poll Shows Republican Trailing Democrat” (2026-10-29). newsweek.com/trump-cancels-kansas-rally-as-new-poll-shows-re

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