Surprising schedule change from the White House tonight. With just five days to go until the midterm elections next Tuesday, the president is cancelling his final two scheduled rallies for this cycle, leaving just one more in Florida tomorrow on his schedule. Now, of course, few politicians have logged more miles than this president. Today, he actually held his 25th rally this month. That one in South Carolina for Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. But in the closing days of this campaign and hours and minutes of an election that is going to have a major impact on the rest of his presidency, it's notable that Trump is scrapping rallies that he had planned in Iowa and in Kansas. Those are both traditionally red states where Republicans are right now fighting Democrats to hang on to their seats. And the White House now says instead the president is going to hold tele-rallies to stretch his message even further to a bigger audience. But it may have been the president's answer that was the most revealing about what's going on when he was asked why he's adjusting his schedule.
You not going to Kansas has nothing to do with you being sick and traveling.
Oh, you're sick to ask that one.
You are sick. Who you with?
I'm with Reuters, sir.
You are a sick guy. Reuters is terrible, by the way. Make sure you're doing well.
Look at this guy. He's way out of shape. Look at how badly he comes to me. Sir, you're not going to go to Kansas. Not going to Kansas because he's doing very well. I'm going to do a tele-rally tomorrow. I'm doing Florida. He said, "What's the reason?" After doing what? 28. He says, "What's the reason for this, sir? That you're not going to Kansas." You know what the reason is? I don't feel I have to go to Kansas. I'm going to Florida tomorrow and I'll do if something else comes up. But he said, "You're not going to Kansas, sir. Are you feeling well? You've been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect. You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape. You look like hell."
Now, that reporter from Reuters, Jacob Bogage, asked a straightforward question about the president's schedule. He got an irritated answer, as you heard there, especially given it's the president himself who has touted his own ability to maintain a busy schedule.
It is. So, the one thing I can say is that no president has ever worked so hard on a midterm.
Nobody's ever campaigned like I have for midterms. I haven't.
I've been doing this stuff for a week and a half, two weeks. I did more rallies than I've ever done for myself.
You know, I've done 26 of them. Now,
I have worked very hard. I've done 14 rallies in nine days, and that's a lot. I'm going to Georgia, but uh it's a strain on your your voice. It's a strain, you know, it's not normal. I'm doing something different. I'm working like a dog.
Now, there's another reason why cancelling these final two rallies of the 2026 midterms stands out to those of us who have covered Trump for years. If you'll remember, during the final 72 hours before the 2018 midterms, President Trump held seven rallies in Montana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri. He told his team then he wanted to be on the road as much as possible, especially in those final few days as voters were casting their ballots. Tonight, sources say though that some Republican officials are relieved by the president's decision to cancel those final two rallies. One top Republican official told my colleague Jeff Zeleny, quote, "Thank God he hasn't moved the needle anywhere." And a second official saying, quote, "Everyone who has seen the president who wants to see him." In the meantime, in Kansas, Senator Roger Marshall, where of course the president was expected to go and rally on his behalf, offered this reaction to the news that the president is no longer coming.
Senator, any reaction to the president cancelling the in-person rally this weekend?
I I'm I'm not I'm not sure sure yet. I think I they think them are doing so well in the polls that he's got probably got better places to spend his time. Um not sure.
Now, we don't have insight into the senator's polling, but a brand new CNN poll actually found that Senator Roger Marshall's race is still very close. Actually, as you can see here, it's within the margin of error. If there's been a surge in his numbers, we have not seen it materialize yet in the polling. And there's a similar story playing out in Iowa where CNN's latest poll of polls shows a one-point race. Now, both of these contests, as it stands tonight, could go either way. That's the exact kind of toss-up races that the president has said are best dealt with him showing up in person,
but the rallies are very well attended. And I think we've we've changed the whole, you know, we've done a lot of them in uh over the last week and a half. A lot. I think we've really turned it around and you know I think the rallies have turned it frankly just but I think the rallies have really these rallies have energized they've really energized the Republican party and you know we're doing so well
and it's uh it's just raised him to a level that you know nobody can believe Larry I mean it's just amazing he went up 14 points or something and that was by rally
as an example we're up in Texas we weren't we're up In Alaska, we were we're up everybody. Every place that I've gone to, we're up.
My lead source tonight has also been in high demand on the campaign trail. The independent senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, is here. And thank you, Senator, for being here because you are a veteran on the campaign trail. Are you reading anything tonight into the president cancelling those last two rallies in person?
I think, you know, based on the many events that I've had all over the country, Kaitlan, I think there is a growing disgust and anger uh not only at Trump's personal behavior. I mean, this is the president of the United States. You should not be screaming and demeaning a reporter who just asked you a question uh the other day. And his narcissism, I think, is getting onto the nerves of the American people. Uh, the other day he called um Norway, you will forgive me for using profanity here, but it's what he said. He called Norway a hole country. And why did he say that? Because Norway did not give him the peace, Nobel Peace Prize. The government doesn't even do that. But the commission did not do that. And he makes this horrible attack on one of the most prosperous democratic countries uh in the world. And people I see are beginning to sense that his narcissism, his pathological
uh lying, his contempt for the constitution and the rule of law, not to mention his horrible policies. People are saying enough is enough. When I was in Michigan, we were in a small town, 10,000 people in a county that Trump won by 30 points. Alpena, Michigan. We had a thousand people coming out. So, I think people all over this country are saying enough is enough. We cannot continue to have a rubber stamp Senate, a rubber stamp House of Representatives. We need to hold this president accountable and we need to start developing policies that help working people, not billionaires.
Does it surprise you to hear that in places that the president won? Because that has kind of been a factor of the last few weeks where he's going to places that, you know, he won by double digits two years ago.
Absolutely. Absolutely. And I I think, you know, it's a combination of factors. It's the fact that people are looking around them, they can't afford to fill up their gas tank, they can't afford food. Uh working people are struggling to make ends meet and they're seeing billionaires getting huge tax breaks and becoming even richer. Uh and people are looking at a campaign finance system which is corrupt. You have the richest guy in the world, Mr. Musk, spending over $400 million to try to make sure that Republicans retain control over the Senate and the House. And I think whether you're conservative, a progressive or moderate, people are saying, you know, that is not what democracy or America is supposed to be about. I think add all of these things together. I can understand why Trump is getting frustrated.
The president actually brought you up on the campaign trail today in South Carolina over in Rock Hill. I don't know if you heard uh what he said, but this was his quote.
No doubt saying very positive things.
Well, let's take a listen and we'll see if you still agree.
Bernie Sanders who's radical left, but but you know, you got to hand it to the guy's like about 137 years old and he's still he's still sharp. He's still crazy crazy Bernie.
Um to fact check him, you were 85 years old, sir. Um what was your
Should I take that as a compliment?
Well, uh, my thought is that I think he is getting nervous that I and other progressives around the country, uh, are rallying the American people, uh, to stand up to his contempt for the Constitution and for policies that benefit the very, very rich. I think he's getting nervous.
You know, in reality, in terms of what these races look like, a lot of them are going to be close on Tuesday, it seems like. We'll see obviously what pans out. And the main attack from Republicans on the Democrat candidates here is that they're too liberal. They're too socialist. Today, the president said black or Jewish voters who are backing Abdul El-Sayed for the Michigan Senate seat and um the that Senate seat that they are quote crazy.
What do you make of the president saying that? Do you think that that is an effective attack that could be work that could work?
No, I don't. Kaitlan, I will tell you what I make of it. The truth is that if you look at the major issues facing this country, massive income and wealth inequality, a corrupt campaign finance system, uh uncontrolled AI, a health care system that is collapsing, an educational system in deep trouble, a war, an illegal and unconstitutional war in Iraq. If you look at all of these issues, Republicans have nothing significant to say about them. So when you have nothing to say about the issues that impact working people, what do you resort to? You do what demagogues have always done. You go to racism and fear-mongering. I was in just tell you a story. I was in uh Grand Rapids, Michigan just the other day campaigning with Abdul and I spent the night in a hotel in Grand Rapids. Morning. We were having breakfast. TVs were on. In 20 minutes, I saw five ugly ads attacking Abdul. You know why? Because he is a Muslim. Because he is a Muslim. You go to Florida, the only thing they could talk about is communism. I'm a communist. Andrew Gillum is a communist. Total absolute lies. So what these guys are doing now in the really ugliest way that I have seen and it's what demagogues do all the time. They try to divide us up by our religion, by where we were born, by our sexual orientation, etc. Uh but I think that strategy is just not working. I think despite it all, the zillions of dollars being spent against Abdul in Michigan and Andrew in in Florida, I think those lies are not going to work. I think both of those guys are going to win.
Well, I mean, in Michigan, we've been watching that race really closely. And we had Congresswoman Haley Stevens here last night who obviously went up against Abdul El-Sayed in the primary. He defeated her. Um, but they have not appeared on the campaign trail together. And this is what she told me last night. Senator,
look, I I am the weirdest loser in this country, okay? That Senate race was months ago. I hugged it out. Of course, I'm voting, you know, for our Democratic nominee for for Senate. I'm voting for the Democratic ticket, but I want to encourage, you know, this campaign to shut out the hate and to call it out and to make people who were in my coalition, right? Feel make them feel comfortable about coming to the polls.
Right now, we just heard tonight they're going to campaign together on Sunday, but uh I mean, what did you make of her comments there, Senator?
Well, I think you know there is a lot of hatred being thrown about in Michigan. Uh but it is not coming from Abdul. Look, I understand that the issue of Israel in Gaza is a very sensitive issue. People disagree. My own view is that in fact uh this right-wing extremist uh Netanyahu in Israel has in fact committed genocide against the people uh of uh Palestine, the people in Gaza. That does not make you anti-Semitic. I am Jewish. My father's family was wiped out by Hitler. So to talk about the horrific policies of the Netanyahu government, which has killed 75,000 men, women, and children in Gaza, wounded double that number. That is not anti-semitism.
That is speaking out against a government that we should not be funding. That's what I believe. I think that's what Abdul believes. And that is not hate-mongering. That is simply saying that American taxpayer dollars should not go to an extremist government in Israel. We got to use that money back home to deal with homelessness, to deal with education, to deal with healthcare.
So when she says she wants him to denounce those ads that have been running, they came the one that she was referencing came from an outside group. I mean, do you think she has a point in terms of getting Democrats all on the same page in Michigan?
Well, look, I mean, I it's very we have a corrupt campaign finance system so that any super PAC can say anything they want and he had, you know, I suspect no knowledge of that at all. Uh the bottom line is that there is one key issue in this campaign in Michigan, Florida, Maine, Minnesota, wherever. Will we continue to have a Congress that bows down to an increasingly irrational, dangerous president or we are finally or are we finally going to have a Congress that holds them accountable? And I hope every Democrat in Michigan, if you disagree with Abdul on this or that issue, disagree with them. But the fundamental issue is we got to end Republican control over the House and the Senate.
You're an independent. You caucus with the Democrats. After next Tuesday, you think Republicans will still be in control of the Senate, sir?
I'm not going to speculate. I think, as you mentioned a moment ago,
Uh, no. Sorry. Not my thing. There are a half a dozen or seven races that are very, very close. Uh, all that I can tell you, I am working as hard as I can uh to make sure that Democrats uh gain control over the Senate and the House, and I think we've got a reasonable shot to do that, but I'm not into speculation. I I certainly hope that is the outcome.
