Trump rallies in Iowa and Kansas days before midterms

What happened

President Donald Trump held campaign rallies on Sunday in Dubuque, Iowa, and Salina, Kansas, two days before Tuesday's midterm elections, after earlier canceling in-person events and then reversing course. He spoke for about two hours in Iowa, where Republicans are defending a Senate seat held by nominee Rep. Ashley Hinson, and later campaigned for Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas. Trump said Republicans would elect “America first” candidates. More than 54 million votes had already been cast.^{⁠[12, 23]}

A national NBC News poll of registered voters found Democrats preferred for Congress 52% to 45%, a 7-point edge, with Trump's job disapproval at a poll-high 60% and approval at 40%. Nearly two-thirds of voters wanted a change in the country's direction. In interviews with The New York Post podcast and Fox News, Trump said that if Democrats win Congress, “I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto” and would not let them “ruin it,” though he added they would probably later make deals after vetoes.^{⁠[17, 24]}

In Michigan, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost the Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers and appeared with him at a Detroit church. Trump invited her to join the GOP. A federal judge in Alaska dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block certification of Senate results if incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan lost, over a similarly named candidate on the ballot.^{⁠[12, 23]}

Background

Republicans hold narrow majorities in both the House and Senate. Midterms historically bring losses for the president's party. Coverage noted voter concerns over the economy, prices, tariffs, and a war in Iran. Democrats need gains in Trump-won states to take the Senate. Trump has held more than two dozen rallies in recent weeks. He spent Saturday at a Halloween event at Mar-a-Lago.^{⁠[12, 17, 23]}

How the coverage differs

Left-leaning outlets such as HuffPost, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, AlterNet, Daily Kos and The Guardian emphasized a Democratic polling advantage, Trump's record-low approval, protests and jeers at the Iowa rally, a Mike Johnson impersonation of Trump, and arguments that Democrats must hold Trump accountable or that Republicans face a “mess” due to cowardice. They highlighted Trump comments that critics said backfired. Center outlets including ABC News, NBC News, Forbes, The Hill and Yahoo/Reuters focused on rally details, the NBC poll numbers, Trump's veto-and-deals comments, the Stevens endorsement, and the Alaska court ruling, along with GOP defensive posture in previously safe states. Right-leaning outlets such as the New York Post, Washington Times, Washington Examiner and OANN stressed Trump's energy, “America first” message, warnings about Democratic candidates, live rally coverage, and his plan to remain effective via vetoes even if Democrats win.^{⁠[1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, 17, 23, 24, 25, 28]}

What's still unclear

Final vote counts, Senate control, and whether Stevens' endorsement or the Alaska name issue will shift outcomes remain unknown until results arrive, which some coverage noted could take time. The poll's 3% undecided and mixed issue ratings leave room for variation. Effects of early voting and turnout among MAGA versus other Republicans are not yet measured.^{⁠[4, 17, 23]}

Written by Grok from the full articles, at a reader's request. AI can get details wrong; check the sources.