Trump cancels weekend rallies in Iowa and Kansas in favor of holding numerous tele-rallies

President Donald Trump announced Thursday he is canceling his rallies in Kansas and Iowa this weekend, where he was set to stump for GOP candidates in competitive races, opting instead to do telerallies.

The president’s cancellations come amid his planned midterm blitz, in which he said he would travel to 35 places across the country to help raise turnout for Republican candidates.

Trump has repeatedly touted what he believes is the positive impact of his rallies on GOP candidates, going as far as to suggest that his presence in battleground states has boosted Republicans in the polls.

But the president’s tune appeared to change Thursday after his cancellations. Trump said he didn’t “feel I have to go to Kansas,” adding that he thinks Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who’s locked in a tight race with Democrat Adam Hamilton, “is doing well.”

Concerns over high costs connected to the war in Iran have helped turn the race into a toss-up in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate for nearly a century.

Trump, who has campaigned at 25 rallies in the past month, has admitted that the blitz has not been “easy,” saying through a hoarse voice on Monday that “God didn’t make your vocal cords to do a rally every day.”

But the president on Thursday insisted he felt “perfect,” while lashing out at a reporter who pressed him on whether the rally cancellation in Kansas was tied to his health.

“You’ve been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect. You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape. You look like hell,” Trump said to the journalist.

His Iowa cancellation came hours after that interaction, after a White House official and a person familiar confirmed that Trump’s appearance was off.

The Republican National Committee said in a news release that the rallies were canceled with the goal of “maximizing opportunities for President Donald J. Trump to speak to voters across the country.”

GOP operatives in Iowa, where all congressional races this year, except one, are competitive, told NBC News that in-person rallies would have been helpful. Trump’s rally on Saturday would have been in Dubuque, located in Iowa’s contested 2nd Congressional District.

“A telerally will be helpful in boosting turnout, but an in-person rally would have been really helpful,” one operative said.

Another operative said he “would love to have the president,” but said “Iowa’s in pretty good shape.”

Trump is aiming to hold “more than 20” telerallies by Election Day, two White House officials said Thursday.

The president is still scheduled to hold an event in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday. He will be campaigning for Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., who are running in races rated solidly Republican by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

No events have been announced for Monday.