Trump backtracks on rallies in turbulent end to midterms campaign

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday insisted Republicans "have a shot" at success in the US midterms, despite a feverish end to the campaign for elections that will decide control of Congress.

Trump reversed course and reinstated two rallies in Kansas and Iowa a day after cancelling them, a move that had raised questions about his health and the state of the race.

"Typically, a president, whether he's good or bad, Republican or Democrat, loses the midterms," Trump told reporters as he hosted Stephen Hubbard, a US detainee recently freed by Russia, in the Oval Office.

"I think we have a shot at doing well. Maybe very well, but you know, pretty well."

Trump said he had cancelled the two events to hold virtual rallies, but Republicans in Iowa and Kansas called "and they said if you could go, it would be better than a tele-rally".

But the 80-year-old's comments were far from a robust assessment of Republican chances in the November 3 vote.

'I feel perfect'

Republicans are defending their 53-47 majority in the Senate in Tuesday's elections, while Democrats are seeking to capture at least one chamber of Congress and curb Trump's legislative agenda during his final two years in office.

Trump has put himself at the centre of the Republicans' midterm strategy, hoping it will fire up his MAGA (Make America Great Again) base.

But his dismal approval ratings and public anger over the Iran war and the cost of living may weigh on Republican chances.

Trump, who complained of losing his voice earlier this week, lashed out on Thursday when asked if he was scrapping the Kansas trip because he was "sick of travelling".

"I feel perfect," Trump snapped, saying he no longer needed to visit Kansas because Republican Senator Roger Marshall was "doing very well".

But Trump's about-face was likely the result of questions over the energy levels of America's oldest-ever elected president, political strategist Mike Fahey told AFP.

"My suspicion is that Trump didn't particularly like that narrative, and putting the events back on the calendar was the fastest way to kill it," said Fahey, a veteran of multiple election campaigns.

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Both Kansas and Iowa voted comfortably for Trump in 2024, but have emerged as unexpected battlegrounds for Republicans.

Marshall faces a competitive challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton in Kansas, which has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932. In Iowa, Republican congresswoman Ashley Hinson is fighting a close race against Democrat Josh Turek.

Pope Leo votes

A record 47.9 million Americans have already voted in the US midterms, with participation surging in key battleground states and registered Democrats outpacing Republicans, figures showed on Friday.

The surge is especially pronounced in states with fiercely contested Senate races.

Among the early voters is Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church's first US-born pontiff — marking the first known time a pope has voted in a political election.

The head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, who has clashed with Trump, submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago, the Vatican said on Friday.

A rift between the pope and Trump earlier this year made global headlines.

Trump has urged Republicans to "pretend I'm on the ballot" in the midterms, pointing to his presidential election wins in 2016 and 2024, which largely defied the polls.

He has promised a US$5,000 "dividend" for every American citizen if Republicans retain control of Congress, and stepped up his harsh rhetoric against migrants, Muslims and transgender people.

Trump has also repeatedly warned that he will face a third impeachment if Republicans lose, although Democrats may be more likely to focus on the 2028 presidential election.

Democrats, meanwhile, fear Trump will not accept a Republican loss in the midterms, as he did not accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, after recently ramping up claims of voter fraud.

"We had a rigged election in 2020. We cannot ever let that happen again," Trump said in an interview with KCMO radio station in Kansas City.