With days left before the midterms, Donald Trump cancelled in-person rallies in Iowa and Kansas and decided to campaign by phone instead. When a Reuters reporter asked why he ditched the Kansas event meant to help embattled Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, the president snapped back: "You're sick to ask that question."
The 72-Hour Sprint That Involves No Sprinting
According to The Guardian, the Republican National Committee announced that Trump would spend a "72-hour sprint" doing rallies by phone rather than in person. The party says this will "maximize" his ability to speak to voters nationwide, with tele-rallies planned for nearly 20 states and more possibly on the way.
Maximize. That's the word they went with. The man who spent a decade insisting that nothing in politics compares to the roar of a packed arena is now going to maximize his impact by dialing in.
A sprint, for the record, is a thing you do with your legs. This is a conference call with a podium voice.
Twenty-Five Rallies and a Goal He Missed
Here's the part that makes the cancellation harder to spin. Trump had pledged to push through the final days of the campaign doing rally after rally to galvanize his base. As of Thursday, he had done 25 rallies in October. He once set a goal north of 30.
So he fell short of his own target, and then, with the finish line in sight, he chose to stop running. The abrupt shift from "rally after rally" to "hold the phone" is the kind of thing a campaign normally tries to hide. Instead, the RNC put out a press statement about it with a straight face.
Maybe the schedule just got tight. Maybe there's a perfectly boring explanation. But nobody in the Trump orbit offered one, and the president's reaction to being asked tells you how much he wanted to talk about it.
"You're Sick to Ask That Question"
A Reuters reporter asked Trump why he cancelled the planned Saturday appearance in Kansas, where he was supposed to support Sen. Roger Marshall. Marshall is described as embattled, which is a word you do not want attached to your name days before an election.
Trump's answer was not an answer. "You're sick to ask that question," he said.
Think about that. A reporter asked a president why he changed his weekend schedule. This is among the least invasive questions in the entire profession. It is the "how was your flight" of political journalism. And the response was to diagnose the person asking it as unwell.
Why the Anxiety Is Showing
The Guardian's reporting makes clear Republicans are sweating. Trump traveled to South Carolina on Thursday for the second time in a month, a sign of nervousness about Sen. Lindsey Graham's ability to fend off Democrat Annie Andrews. South Carolina hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly three decades.
Andrews is a pediatrician who previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress, and her pitch is simple: "try something new for once." You don't burn presidential travel days on a state you're confident about.
Beyond South Carolina, Republicans are in tight contests in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa and Alaska, with both parties watching Mississippi too, per AP. That is a lot of map to be tight on. It is also a funny moment to decide that in-person campaigning is optional.
The Rest of the Circus
The week's other developments barely needed help being absurd. Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, confirmed his campaign pulled an attack ad that featured the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton. Pulling it was the right call, and the fact that anyone approved it is the story.
Trump also renewed his demand that Democrat Mary Peltola be criminally prosecuted and disqualified from the Alaska Senate race, over allegations that her campaign recruited a man named Dan Sullivan to run against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. Yes, the same name. The president wants a criminal case over a ballot-name stunt.
And Tom Hoyle went viral on Thursday after comparing Trump supporters to a cult during a live Fox News interview outside the South Carolina rally. Three Secret Service agents removed him from the venue. Nobody has explained what law a TV interview violated.
The Dingo Take
Cancelling rallies and calling the press sick is not the body language of a man who feels good about November.
Look at the pattern. The candidate who built his brand on packed arenas and roaring crowds is retreating to a phone line in the final stretch. The party is calling it a sprint. The reporter who asked about it got a diagnosis instead of a reason. If the explanation were flattering, we would have heard it.
Maybe the tele-rallies reach more people, as the RNC claims. Maybe the weekend calendar really was too crowded. But a president who cannot answer a simple scheduling question without insulting the person asking it has told you everything you need to know about how the closing days are going. Voters are going to make up their own minds, and they won't need a conference call to do it.
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