President Donald Trump is in Kansas in the latest in a series of stops where he’s trying to energize his base in the final weeks before the midterm elections.
The visits come as Republicans pour money into Senate races in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa amid concerns about voter enthusiasm.
Trump won Kansas by 16 percentage points against Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024, but now Republican Sen. Roger Marshall faces a tough challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton.
Earlier Monday, Trump directed the government to bolster federal research into women’s health, a move pushed by his wife, first lady Melania Trump. The order creates a new women’s health division at the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force to focus on the issue.
Here’s the latest:
The president ended a weaving speech that railed against Democratic opponents and put his weight behind Republican candidates in Kansas.
His remarks, which spanned roughly an hour and 38 minutes, were briefly interrupted by a string of protesters toward the beginning of the evening.
Trump was visiting Kansas in an attempt to energize Republican voters ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, coming to the support of Sen. Roger Marshall, who is running for reelection, and Republican Ty Masterson, who is running for governor.
___ This post has been corrected to show that the rally was outside Wichita, not in Wichita.
Hegseth announced late Monday on social media that he was in the Middle East visiting troops that were on an unspecified, “historic mission.”
However, the post also came several hours after Axios reported that Hegseth was in Israel visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When asked about the visit and the reports, the Pentagon declined to comment.
The third debate between candidates for Iowa governor, Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn, will not take place Wednesday as scheduled. Sand’s campaign said Monday that he withdrew to focus on his family.
The decision follows the unexpected Oct. 15 death of his brother-in-law, 42-year-old businessman and philanthropist Walter Lauridsen II.
The campaigns both say they are working to reschedule. Another debate, previously planned as the fourth and final, is Oct. 27.
Lahn’s campaign said in a statement that they understand and support Sand’s decision, adding that some things are bigger than politics.
The Republican president went into a lengthy attack against Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton. Trump said Hamilton came onto his radar as “this lunatic up here” who would say “bad things” about Trump and his policies.
“He’s a radical left phony who’s pretending to be a moderate,” Trump said of Hamilton, who is challenging Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in a closely contested race.
Trump tried to draw a contrast with Marshall, who he described as a fantastic senator who will defend gun rights, fight against Democratic policies and support Christian values.
At least three protesters interrupted the president at the start of his rally before being escorted out.
“Whatever you do, get out and vote so we can get rid of idiots like that,” Trump told the crowd as he gestured toward one protester.
The crowd drowned out the protesters with chants of “USA!” Trump suggested the protesters were being paid, saying he could “tell by the voice they get paid.”
“Now he goes home to mom and dad, they slap him around,” Trump said about one protester.
The State Department on Monday boosted its previous alert level for the East African country from two — “exercise increased caution” — to three — “reconsider travel.”
The move came a day after Kenyan health authorities announced there were now eight confirmed cases of the virus in the capital of Nairobi. Kenya reported its first Ebola death on Oct. 5, but the virus has killed at least 4,000 people in neighboring Congo.
U.S. travel warnings are not binding but can affect how potential tourists and business people plan their trips, and they are used as a guide by tour companies and insurance companies.
Kenya is particularly sensitive to elevated travel warnings as its safari- and nature-based tourism industry is a mainstay of its economy.
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case about the role race plays in middle school admissions, three years after a majority on the high court struck down affirmative action in college.
The case involves admissions to four selective middle schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, a diverse suburb of Washington, D.C.
A group of parents said in a lawsuit that the district’s admissions policy for four magnet schools, while race-neutral on its face, is designed to boost the admission of Black and Latino students while disadvantaging Asian American kids.
The high court said Monday it will weigh whether the parent group has enough evidence of discrimination for the case to move forward.
