President Donald Trump will hold back-to-back campaign rallies in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday, 1 November, after reversing a decision to scrap both events days before the United States midterm elections.
A White House official told Reuters on Friday, 30 October: “Rallies are BACK ON! President Trump loves his supporters, and in addition to nearly 20 tele-rallies, he will hold back-to-back rallies in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday.” USA Today confirmed the rallies are for Senate midterm candidates in both states.
What changed, and when
Trump had originally been scheduled to campaign in Salina, Kansas, on Saturday, 31 October, and in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday. On Thursday, 29 October, the Republican National Committee announced that both in-person events would no longer take place and would be replaced by telephone rallies.
The committee said the change would let Trump reach more voters across the country in a “72-hour sprint” of phone events. The Sunday Guardian reported that a tele-rally typically runs for around 10 minutes, compared with 90 minutes or more at an in-person rally.
Less than 24 hours later, the plan was reversed. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that Republicans in both states had asked him to come in person.
“We have a couple of races that are very important, and they said if you could go, it would be better than a tele-rally,” he said, according to USA Today. “And I tried to talk them out of that. I said, ‘What about a tele-rally?’ But they asked me. So I’m going to go on Sunday.”
Why the cancellation raised questions
On Thursday, Trump had told reporters: “I don’t feel I have to go to Kansas.” When a Reuters reporter asked whether the decision had anything to do with fatigue from travelling, Trump rejected the suggestion, and later said he felt “perfect”.
The sudden changes came after a punishing schedule: the New York Post, citing Associated Press data, reported Trump had headlined around 25 rallies in October. The Sunday Guardian reported that Trump had told a rally in Corinth, Mississippi, on Monday that his voice had grown raspy.
The reversal also followed polling pressure. In Kansas, Republican Senator Roger Marshall is seeking re-election against Democrat Adam Hamilton, and the Sunday Guardian reported that a CNN/SSRS poll released on Thursday showed Hamilton leading. That poll result is reported here as attributed polling, not as an Emadan finding.
What is at stake on Tuesday
Americans vote in the midterm elections on Tuesday, 3 November. Republicans are defending a 53-47 majority in the Senate, while Democrats are hoping to win control of at least one chamber of Congress.
The Manila Times reported on Friday that a record 47.9 million Americans had already voted, with participation surging in battleground states. The Kansas and Iowa results, in states that normally vote Republican, will be read as a gauge of the national mood.
Trump is still scheduled to hold tele-rallies across many other states before election day, in addition to the two Sunday in-person events. Related coverage: Democrats lead final midterm polls by 8 points as voters head to Tuesday’s vote, US midterm early voting hits record 47.9 million, and Justice Department asks judge to segregate Alaska ballots in Dan Sullivan Senate race.
What happens next
Both Sunday rallies go ahead as in-person events, followed by the tele-rally programme and then Tuesday’s vote. If either rally is cancelled again or moved, that would be a further development, not a correction to this report of Friday’s reversal.
Sources
Reuters, “On again: Trump restores weekend campaign rallies in Iowa, Kansas”, 30 October 2026, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/again-trump-restores-weekend-campaign-rallies-iowa-kansas-2026-10-30/ ; USA Today, “Trump rallies in Kansas, Iowa are back on after being canceled”, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/10/30/trump-rallies-kansas-iowa-back-cancellations-midterms/92512844007/ ; AFP via Manila Times, “Trump reinstates rallies in turbulent end to US midterms campaign”, 31 October 2026, https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/10/31/world/trump-reinstates-rallies-in-turbulent-end-to-us-midterms-campaign/2458532 ; Sunday Guardian, “Trump Reverses Plan To Scrap Kansas And Iowa Midterm Rallies”, 1 November 2026, https://sundayguardianlive.com/world/trump-reverses-plan-to-scrap-kansas-and-iowa-midterm-rallies-reinstating-in-person-events-alongside-tele-rally-blitz-315034/
Frequently asked questions
When are the Kansas and Iowa rallies? Both are now scheduled for Sunday, 1 November, after originally being set for Saturday in Salina, Kansas, and Sunday in Dubuque, Iowa.
Why were they cancelled? The Republican National Committee said on Thursday that Trump would instead hold tele-rallies to reach more voters; on Friday the campaign reversed that decision after calls from Republicans in both states.
When are the midterms? Tuesday, 3 November 2026.
