Donald Trump angrily denied being "sick of travelling" last night as he cancelled a rally in Kansas just days before the Midterm elections.
Rally cancelled in favour of tele-rally
Trump was scheduled to visit Salina, Kansas for a rally on Saturday, one of the final events in a month of almost daily rallies. Republican Roger Marshall is at risk of losing his seat on Tuesday, with a "blue tsunami" of seats poised to flip to the Democrats.
Instead of visiting the state in person, Trump will hold "tele-rallies" - mass conference calls where supporters can dial in to hear the President speak from the Oval Office. But Trump denied switching from an in-person event to a low-effort method of campaigning was due to him being tired of travelling.
Trump lashes out at reporter
He lashed out at a reporter who asked about the cancelled rally. "I think he's doing well," Trump said. "We're going to do a tele-rally for him instead. He's doing he's doing very well, actually."
In supposedly deep red Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton led Marshall by one point in a poll published yesterday - well within the margin of error.
"How's your health?," a reporter asked Trump who was returning to the White House after a rally in South Carolina. He replied: "I think very good. I think you see that we had a great rally."
"So you not going to Kansas has nothing to do with you being sick of traveling?" the reporter asked. "Oh, you're sick to ask that question. You are sick."
Trump defends decision
He asked who the reporter represented, and when told he was from Reuters, he said: "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. I'm not going to Kansas because he's doing very well."
Trump added: "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."
It means Trump's rally at Daytona Beach tomorrow could be the last in-person event of the campaign - and unless he decides to hit the road to support his successor, it could be the last rally of his political career.
