Trump Reinstates Rallies as DOJ Probes Alaska, California Votes

In 60 seconds: President Donald Trump reinstated his cancelled Kansas and Iowa rallies for Sunday, November 1, a day after scrapping them — while his Justice Department escalated election cases in Alaska and California just three days before the November 3 midterms.

President Donald Trump. Photo: The White House (official 2025 portrait).

What happened

With just four days left before Election Day, the final weekend of the 2026 midterm campaign turned turbulent on Friday, October 30. President Donald Trump, 80, reversed course and restored two rallies he had cancelled less than 24 hours earlier — in Kansas and Iowa, both set for Sunday, November 1 — and campaigned in Florida on Friday night, telling a crowd in Daytona Beach the rallies were being held "for one very simple reason: to stop America-hating communists from taking over the United States Congress."

At the same time, his administration pushed forward on two legal fronts that could shape how votes are counted and certified after Tuesday. In Alaska, home to one of about 10 highly competitive Senate races, the Justice Department filed an amended lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block certification of the results if the Republican incumbent loses narrowly. In California, which historically takes longer than most states to count ballots, the department escalated a criminal probe into alleged voting by non-citizens, issuing subpoenas to local election officials.

Latest verified facts

Here's what is confirmed, from Reuters, The Hindu, The Indian Express, and The New York Times as cited by those outlets. Trump had cancelled the Kansas and Iowa events on Thursday, October 29, saying he wanted to try tele-rallies in the two states. Republicans there called and told him a visit in person would be better, and a White House official confirmed the Sunday trips. Trump had complained of losing his voice earlier in the week, and lashed out on Thursday when asked if he was scrapping the Kansas trip because he was "sick of traveling." He now plans "nearly 20" virtual campaign appearances before Tuesday, alongside the restored in-person rallies.

In Alaska, the DOJ's revised lawsuit cites a New York Times report from October 28 that operatives for Democratic candidate Mary Peltola orchestrated a "sham campaign" to recruit a spoiler candidate with a nearly identical name to the Republican incumbent, Senator Dan Sullivan. Peltola has denied knowing about it, saying, "I am not interested in tricking voters." The department has issued more than 40 subpoenas and document-preservation requests in the case. Alaska's top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman, said at a press conference on October 30 that the Times article had driven a "surge" of FBI resources, that several prosecutors had been assigned, and that investigative steps were taking place "intensely and swiftly." The DOJ also asked a federal judge on October 30 to ensure the preservation of ballots that "may be impacted by voter confusion." Trump told a Florida rally on October 30, "This is voter fraud at the highest level," and has said of the Alaska suit, "I'm the one that said do it."

In California, the Justice Department sent federal grand jury subpoenas to local election officials as part of its effort to show that thousands of noncitizens are on the state's voter rolls — a claim The New York Times described as unsubstantiated. A federal appeals court on Friday again refused to order California to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, calling the idea unconstitutional — the second time the court has done so this week. Around the same time Trump was speaking in Florida late on Friday, a federal court in California temporarily blocked U.S. justice officials from intimidating local election officials.

The backdrop is a record early vote. More than 46 million Americans had already voted early as of Friday morning, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab, and the figure later reached 47.9 million — surpassing the total from the 2022 midterms, with participation surging in key battleground states and registered Democrats outpacing Republicans, figures showed on Friday.

Why it matters

Honestly, this is two stories colliding at once: a campaign sprint and a legal fight over the rules. The rallies matter because the midterms will decide control of Congress, and nonpartisan analysts believe Trump's Republicans are likely to lose their current majority. A president visibly reversing a cancellation — and then packing the final weekend — signals a campaign that feels the race tightening, not coasting.

The lawsuits matter more, and for longer. The Alaska dispute could leave control of the Senate unclear for weeks: the state is one of about 10 highly competitive Senate races, and a pre-emptive suit to block certification in the event of a narrow loss is an extraordinary federal intervention in elections that the Constitution leaves states to run. California matters differently — it counts slowly by design, and any federal pressure on its officials, plus a court fight over 20,000 ballots, feeds the exact uncertainty that follows every close election. Election officials around the country have told Reuters they are bracing for further legal challenges from Washington.

Impact on the USA and the world

For American voters, the practical impact is immediate: if you live in Alaska, your Senate race — and whether its result is certified on time — is now a federal court case as well as a ballot. If you live in California, your mail ballot is the subject of a subpoena fight and two court rulings in one week. And for everyone else, the record early vote means the outcome may still take days to call in the closest races, whatever happens on Tuesday night.

For the rest of the world, the signal is about how the United States runs its own elections under pressure. Allies and rivals alike watch whether a sitting administration's Justice Department can shape certification and counting — and whether courts hold the line, as the California appeals court did twice this week. That is why this story travels far beyond Kansas, Iowa, Alaska, and California.

What happens next

Here's the thing: the next 72 hours are mapped out, and every step is a watchpoint. Trump holds the Kansas and Iowa rallies on Sunday, November 1, plus nearly 20 tele-rallies before Tuesday. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. After that, watch Alaska first — if the Sullivan race is narrow, the DOJ's certification suit becomes the live fight, and control of the Senate could stay unclear for weeks. Watch California second — its count always takes longer, and the subpoena probe plus the ballot-preservation requests will keep its officials in court even as they count. And watch the early-vote number: at 47.9 million and climbing past 2022, turnout itself is already the story of this election. Our take: the rallies will dominate the weekend's headlines, but the court filings will dominate what happens after the votes are in — and that is where this election will actually be decided.

Read our earlier coverage: Alaska's Governor Just Ordered a Probe Into the 'Second Dan Sullivan' · How US Votes Get Counted — and Why Some Races Take Days to Call · Sabato Shifts 16 House Races Toward Democrats — With 36 Million Votes Already In

Sources: Reuters (via The Straits Times, "Trump escalates legal challenges, scrambles schedule as US midterm elections near"); The Hindu ("Trump backtracks on rallies in turbulent end to midterms campaign"); The Indian Express (US midterm elections live updates); The Economic Times ("Will Alaska polls be called off?"); The New York Times, as cited by Reuters.