Trump Makes a Last-Ditch Effort in Iowa and Kansas to Save Congress as Polls Favor Democrats

President Donald Trump devoted the final Sunday of the campaign to what he does best. With the polls against him and just two days before the midterm elections, the president held back-to-back rallies in Iowa and Kansas in an attempt to mobilize the GOP base and keep Democrats from wresting control of Congress from Republicans.

The day began in Dubuque, Iowa, a state where the Senate race between Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek is virtually tied. Trump spoke for nearly two hours, according to ABC News, and closed the rally with his signature “YMCA” dance before boarding his plane for his next stop.

Much of the speech centered on distrust of the electoral process. Trump called states like Minnesota, Maine and California corrupt and pushed for paper ballots instead of voting machines. “Look, they’ll try figuring something, but it’s much harder because they have to cheat,” he said.

The president also took aim at Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, whom he has repeatedly called a “jihadist.”

“We’re going to have to get a special metal detector for Abdul,” he told the crowd. Along the same lines, he praised the endorsement that Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost the primary to El-Sayed, gave to Republican Mike Rogers.

Politics

Haley Stevens, El-Sayed's opponent in the Democratic primary, endorses Republican candidate in Michigan

Joaquín Núñez

From Iowa, Trump flew to Kansas, a stop that wasn’t on his schedule until a few days ago. He had canceled a rally planned for Saturday but added it back amid concerns about Sen. Roger Marshall, who trails Democrat Adam Hamilton in the polls in a state Republicans typically win comfortably. “I had to come here to make sure that Roger got elected,” he said. It was his last in-person rally before the election. “I’m closing this sucker down, I’m getting out of here. I’ve got to get a little sleep,” he joked.

The push comes against an unfavorable backdrop. The latest Fox News poll gives Democrats a 54% to 45% lead on the House ballot, while Trump’s approval rating fell to 36%, the lowest recorded by that poll across his two terms. In the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, Democrats are leading or statistically tied in several Republican-held seats, including North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Maine and Alaska.

Republicans hope the president’s presence on the campaign trail will translate into higher turnout among MAGA voters, which is key to withstanding the “blue wave” the polls predict. Trump still has one final day ahead of him. On Monday, he will hold nine tele-rallies and deliver a speech at the Reflecting Pool in Washington before Americans head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3.