President Donald Trump is scrapping plans to headline rallies this weekend in Iowa and Kansas, which officials say will allow him to conduct more tele-rallies.
But that’s a lot different than the last time he was president and fighting to get GOP candidates across the finish line.
In the final 72 hours before the 2018 midterms on November 6, Trump held seven rallies in as many states, a review of news reports at the time shows. He went to Montana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana and Missouri.
Addressing the cancellation of his Kansas rally this time around, Trump said Sen. Roger Marshall, the GOP candidate there, was “doing very well.” And he lashed out at a reporter who inquired about his health.
“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,” he said. “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.”
At a rally earlier in the day, Trump had boasted about how hard he was working on the trail.
“The one thing I can say is that no president has ever worked so hard on a midterm. You know, most presidents, including me, the first couple of times, you sort of take it easy, stay home,” he said.