President Donald Trump got into a heated exchange with a reporter on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews on October 29, 2026, after returning from a campaign stop in South Carolina. The reporter asked whether Trump had canceled his planned Saturday rally in Salina, Kansas, because of his health or because he was tired of traveling. When the reporter followed up, Trump called him "a sick guy" and said Reuters was "terrible," after the reporter said which outlet he was with. Trump then said the reporter was "way out of shape," called him "disgusting," and told him to "put yourself in shape," adding that he looked "like hell." Throughout, Trump insisted he felt perfect and rejected any suggestion that his health had changed his schedule.

Trump said he was skipping Kansas because Republican Sen. Roger Marshall was "doing very well," and that he would support him through a tele-rally instead. He added that his plans to campaign in Florida on Friday were still on. Marshall is in a tight race against Democrat Adam Hamilton, and a CNN poll released the same day showed Hamilton leading 49 percent to 45 percent. Trump had spoken with a noticeable rasp at his earlier South Carolina event, and outlets also reported that his Iowa rally on Sunday was dropped, with tele-rallies planned in nearly 20 states before Election Day. The exchange adds to a long record of heated moments between Trump and journalists, and it landed just days before midterm elections that will decide control of Congress.