SALINA (AP) ā President Donald Trump closed out the final weekend of a turbulent midterm campaign with a rally in two state he handily won in the past.
The president was in Salina, Kansas, and Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday. Republicans in both states are fending off robust challenges from Democrats, threatening GOP majorities in the Senate while they're already at risk in the House.
In Iowa Trump insisted Republicans were on the verge of sweeping victories on Election Day on Tuesday.
āWe're going to elect āAmerica firstā Republicans up and down the line,ā he said near the start of a speech that lasted two hours, long even for Trump, who is known for his lengthy, free-wheeling rallies.
Later, he arrived tardy in Kansas, where Air Force One performed a theatrical flyover before landing for an outdoor, airport rally. Hundreds of people started leaving midway through his nearly 90-minute speech in rural central Kansas, which didnāt end until nearly 10 p.m. local time.
āThis is our last stop. Weāre closing it down tonight," Trump said. He has crisscrossed the country since Oct. 1, holding more than two-dozen rallies in 19 states to lift up the GOP. He is scheduled to give his closing pitch of the midterm elections Monday in Washington at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
With more than 54 million votes already cast, the trips reflect the GOP's defensive posture as the elections become a referendum on Trump's White House second term.