Trump cancels in-person rallies ahead of midterms – and Jon Ossoff has a theory as to why

Donald Trump has cancelled plans for rallies across the country ahead of the midterms next week, and Jon Ossoff has a theory as to why that decision may have been made.

Trump dropped plans to attend rallies in Kansas and Iowa this weekend ahead of next week’s midterms, opting instead for virtual appearances, with officials claiming they were cancelled due to Republicans being “in a strong position” in both states.

Following the decision not to go to Kansas, Reuters correspondent Jacob Bogage asked the president at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on Thursday if it was because he was “sick of travel” – and the president hit out in comments that have been slammed as ‘disgusting’ on social media.

Meanwhile, Democrat Ossoff is a senior United States senator from Georgia. Speaking during an interview with MS Now, he said he thought the rallies could have been cancelled over a lack of interest.

"Most of these Republican candidates don't want them to come to their states... I imagine they are canceling these to avoid the humiliation of empty seats and small crowds,” Ossoff said.

Instead of the two cancelled rallies, Trump will instead go for a series of 20 virtual rallies.

It comes as people are actually thanking US president Trump, but not for reasons you might think.

Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday (29 October) bragging about the size of the crowds at his recent rallies and his alleged “99 per cent” approval rating.

“We are drawing the BIGGEST CROWDS at Trump Rallies in the history of Midterm Elections, by a factor of five times. There has never been anything like it! My Approval Rating in the Republican Party is now at 99%. Thank you, such an honor!!!” Trump wrote.

The claims in the post were deemed so outrageous by some they actually thanked him for giving them a good laugh.

Why not read…?

• Ted Cruz condemned for ‘dangerous’ remarks about Abdul El-Sayed
• Trump interrupted by three hecklers within minutes at Ohio rally – here's what they shouted

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.