Donald Trump Restores His Cancelled Kansas and Iowa Rallies for Sunday in a Last-Minute Midterm Reversal

 

United States President Donald Trump has restored the campaign rallies in Kansas and Iowa that he cancelled just a day earlier, reversing course days before the November 3 midterm elections, a White House official said on Friday, October 30, 2026.

"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," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera.

A reversal within 24 hours

The turnaround came one day after the Republican National Committee announced on Thursday night that Trump would skip the in-person events and spend a "72-hour sprint" doing tele-rallies instead, saying that format would maximise his ability to speak to voters nationwide. Trump himself told reporters on Thursday that he did not "feel like I have to go to Kansas."

He had been scheduled to travel to Kansas on Saturday and Iowa on Sunday. Under the revised plan, both rallies will now take place on Sunday, rearranged to accommodate the tele-rallies recently added to his schedule. The tele-rallies — in which Trump speaks by phone for about 10 minutes instead of the more than 90 minutes of a typical in-person rally — remain in place for nearly 20 states.

Why Kansas matters

The Kansas stop carries real stakes for Republicans. Republican Senator Roger Marshall faces an unexpectedly competitive race against Democrat Adam Hamilton, and Trump had said on Thursday that Marshall "is doing very well" and that "we are going to have a strong Tuesday night."

The reversal follows a busy October for the president on the campaign trail: he had led more than two dozen rallies during the month, falling short of a goal he had once placed above 30, according to the Associated Press.

Florida first, then the Midwest

On Friday, Trump is campaigning in Florida, where he is expected to headline a rally at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach in support of Republican candidates including US Senate nominee Ashley Moody and gubernatorial hopeful Byron Donalds. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. and Trump is expected to take the stage at 7 p.m., in a state Republicans usually expect to win but where early voting has tilted toward Democrats.

From Florida, the president heads into the final weekend of the campaign with the restored Sunday doubleheader in Kansas and Iowa — a last-minute change of plan that puts him back on stage in person, in two states where Republicans want a strong finish on Tuesday.

Sources: Reuters, October 30, 2026; Al Jazeera, October 30, 2026; Associated Press, October 30, 2026.