President Trump returned to Joint Base Andrews from South Carolina on Thursday and told reporters that he would skip a planned campaign trip to Salina, Kansas. Instead, he said, he would address supporters remotely before travelling to Florida the following day.
The cancelled Saturday rally had been intended to build support for Republican Senator Roger Marshall’s reelection campaign against the Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton.
Jacob Bogage, a Reuters reporter, asked whether the decision reflected Trump’s health or exhaustion from travel. “So you not going to Kansas has nothing to do with you being sick of traveling?” Bogage asked.
Trump became visibly irritated. He told Bogage, “You are a sick guy. Reuters is terrible, by the way,” and added, “You look like hell. Put yourself in shape.”
The president rejected the suggestion that fatigue had caused the cancellation. “You've been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect,” he said, after saying he had held 28 rallies.
Trump said Marshall was doing “very well”, and said he would hold a tele-rally in Kansas rather than make the visit in person. “Tomorrow I'm doing Florida,” he said.
It remains unclear why Trump chose to cancel the in-person appearance. The White House’s rapid response team later celebrated the exchange and tagged Bogage on X.
A White House official told The Post that Trump “will continue connecting directly with Americans nationwide through more than 20 tele-rallies before Election Day.” White House officials told Scripps News that strong demand for Trump appearances had led campaign officials to use tele-rallies in an effort to reach more voters.
Trump has kept an aggressive, near-daily campaign schedule through October, appearing for Republican candidates ahead of the congressional midterm elections. At several recent rallies, he has told audiences that the pace of travel had left him hoarse.
Marshall is in a competitive contest. A CNN poll put Hamilton ahead of him by 49% to 45%. Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate election in Kansas since 1932.
Trump has also previously made personal remarks about reporters’ appearances since returning to office last year, calling one “piggy” and describing at least two others as ugly “inside and out”.
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