CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins has sounded the alarm on an “unusual” political move made by senior President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, Trump, 80, scrapped a rally he had planned to attend in Kansas on Saturday, ahead of the critical midterm election next Tuesday. Another rally, due to take place in Iowa on Sunday, was also canceled. In their place is a series of virtual campaign events.
The unexpected decision follows a blitz of in-person rallies around the country this month, including two rallies in one day in Texas on Tuesday, as he attempted to charm voters dealing with a cost-of-living crisis triggered by his war on Iran.
Most of his rallies have seen the verbose president speak for around 90 minutes, often longer, while his telerallies generally last for just 15 minutes.
Collins spoke to Anderson Cooper on 360° on Thursday after the rallies in Kansas and Iowa were abruptly canceled.
“It’s pretty unusual, Anderson, because the president likes to tout how much he’s been on the road,” Collins said, adding, “There’s no denying he’s held a bunch of rallies this month, I think the count was at 25 today.”
Collins noted that Trump is due to attend an election rally at Daytona Beach in Florida on Friday, and noted “then that is it for his midterm campaigning.”
The White House reporter said she was on the midterm campaign trail with Trump in 2018, and said “just as much was on the line for him” then as in 2026. She also said the results of Tuesday’s vote could “deeply impact” how the final two years of his presidency might look.
Reflecting on how Trump operated previously, Collins said, “Back in 2018, he was doing still multiple rallies a day before Tuesday night, two a day, three a day in some cases, leading up to those midterms. So it just shows you how different the end of this midterm season is going to look for the president, compared to the last time he was in office.”
Attempting to put a positive spin on Trump taking his remaining rallies online, a White House official told the Daily Beast in an earlier statement, “President Trump will continue connecting directly with Americans nationwide through more than 20 telerallies before Election Day. These events give him the opportunity to highlight his accomplishments and expand his reach across the country.”
Collins said the White House’s argument is that Trump can “stretch himself further” with telerallies, “and do several of them a night on Sunday night, for example.”
However, she added, “Those are pretty different than... having an in-person rally where people show up, wait in line, there’s a big crowd waiting for the president.”
She said that in the telerallies Trump is “basically on speakerphone, and he’s reading off of a script, typically, for about 10 to 15 minutes so it’s very different, obviously, than his in-person rallies.”
Collins also claimed that sources had told CNN that some Republican officials were “relieved” Trump was suddenly staying home.
Speaking on The Source later on Thursday, Collins said one top Republican official’s reaction to the end of the in-person rallies was “Thank God, he hasn’t moved the needle anywhere,” while a second official added, “Everyone has seen the president who wants to see him.”
Collins also commented on Trump fat-shaming a journalist on Thursday who asked about his health.
“You’ve been following me for two weeks, I feel perfect,” Trump told Reuters reporter Jacob Bogage. “You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape, you look like hell.”
Collins said the reporter was “asking a perfectly straightforward question” and was not implying that Trump was “ill or that anything was wrong.”
“I think the way he snapped at that reporter, who was... simply asking what was behind a cancellation, and if his health was good, given how much he’s been on the road and his age, that says a lot,” Collins said.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
