FOOT OFF THE GAS

Trump Makes Major Campaign Change After Humiliating Protests

The shift has renewed speculation about Trump’s health.

Donald Trump is shifting away from in-person rallies in favor of virtual campaign events after a string of small-venue appearances disrupted by protests.

With election day looming on Tuesday, the president canceled a planned rally in Kansas on Saturday, where he was supposed to help boost support for embattled candidate Roger Marshall, as well as another red state rally in Iowa on Sunday.

The shift has renewed speculation about the 80-year-old president’s health, prompted questions about whether he is giving up on certain races, and reignited his obsession with crowd sizes.

“President Trump will continue connecting directly with Americans nationwide through more than 20 telerallies before Election Day,” a White House official told the Daily Beast.

“These events give him the opportunity to highlight his accomplishments and expand his reach across the country.”

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The White House did not explain the reason for the pivot, or whether other events on Trump’s schedule have also been canceled.

Trump later insisted that an in-person event in Florida on Friday would still go ahead and lashed out at suggestions he was sick of travel, even personally attacking a Reuters reporter who asked.

“You are a sick guy, Reuters is terrible,” he said.

“I’m not going to Kansas because he’s doing very well. Tomorrow I’m going to Florida... You’ve been following me for two weeks, I feel perfect. You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape, you look like hell.”

The news came as the president was in South Carolina on Thursday, headlining another rally for embattled Senate candidate Darline Graham, the sister of late MAGA Senator Lindsey Graham.

Three protests interrupted the rally, including a man who was escorted out halfway through Trump’s speech, as the president joked, “Say hi to your mom.”

But as the cameras panned out, viewers could see numerous empty seats at the back of the venue, along with open spaces around it.

The protests in South Carolina were among many that have taken place at the in-person rallies Trump and Vice President JD Vance have held in recent weeks, prompting Trump to insist they are part of a coordinated campaign by “paid protesters.”

“They always hit me in the middle of my damn punchline,” Trump lamented on stage in South Carolina minutes into his speech.

In Ohio on Wednesday night, several protesters also disrupted the night, with one screaming: “Trump went on the Jeffrey Epstein’s plane.”

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At another rally in Ohio on October 12, a woman wearing a “Release the Epstein Files” shirt was attacked by multiple attendees at the Covelli Centre.

The rallies Trump has held during his midterm blitz are also a far cry from his heyday, when tens of thousands packed large stadiums across the country to hear him speak.

Many of his events are now in smaller venues, and a noticeable number of supporters are spotted leaving before the president finishes.

Camera crews and reporters have filmed unfilled seats at recent rallies in Mississippi, Ohio, and Alabama this month—even as the president continues to insist he is “drawing the BIGGEST CROWDS at Trump Rallies in the history of Midterm Elections.”

But the most notable change in the atmosphere at the rallies has been the repeated interruptions by protesters, most notably one man shouting “shove your ballroom up your fat a--.”

The president has also acknowledged that his intense campaign schedule has been physically demanding—for example, once he did not return to the White House until 4 a.m. after barnstorming the country. The constant speaking has also strained his voice.

“When God made vocal cords, he didn’t make them for doing 25 or 26 of these in a period of 10 days,” he said this week.

At 80, Trump is now America’s oldest ever president, suffers from chronic venous insufficiency leading to swollen ankles, and has bruised hands and struggles to sleep.

After returning to Joint Base Andrews on Monday night from a rally in Mississippi, observers noticed he looked sweaty and exhausted despite the crisp fall weather.

Pollsters have also warned that the Republican Party could be headed towards disaster this Election Day.

Nate Silver, who rose to fame as one of the few pollsters to predict a Donald Trump win in 2016, said early voting trends show Democrats are turning out in much larger numbers than Republicans.

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“So they need to get their voters to the polls to take advantage of the red territory in the map,” Silver explained on the Shane Smith Has Questions Podcast.

To that end, some speculated on Thursday that pulling out of Kansas signaled the president was “throwing in the towel” for GOP Senate candidate Roger Marshall, who is in a surprisingly tight race against pastor Adam Hamilton in what has been a ruby red state for over a half-century.

Others, however, believe the GOP will win the state, so a second rally there is not necessary.

“I don’t know that he needs to go to Kansas,” Mark Williams, former chief of staff for former Congressman Mike Conaway, told CNN.

Whatever the case, Kansas GOP Chair Danedri Herbert seemed surprised when she heard the news from the Republican National Committee.

“That’s all they told me: that it was canceled and we’d get more information,” Herbert said to the Kansas City Star on Thursday. “They are going to do a series of tele-rallies, but I don’t have any information about those.”

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