Trump endorsement mentions removed from Sen. Mike Rounds' campaign website
Sen. Mike Rounds' South Dakota re-election website no longer carries some mentions of President Trump's endorsement. His campaign says the endorsement is still prominent and that the changes reflect general-election messaging.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican seeking a third term, has had several mentions of President Donald Trump removed from his campaign website, according to reports on 12 and 13 October 2026. Raw StoryL “South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds seems to have stripped mentions of President Donald Trump from his campaign's website” Read at Raw Story ↗ Fox NewsR “some mentions of the president have since been scrubbed, according to an older version of the website reviewed by Fox News Digital” Read at Fox News ↗ Right · 1Fox News Digital said the homepage had carried "Endorsed by President Trump" and a photo caption saying Rounds is endorsed by Trump. Both were removed, as was Trump's name in two places on the "Issues" page, in the "Put America First" and "Education" sections. Fox NewsR “Those two mentions have since been removed, along with Trump’s name being removed in two places from the lawmaker's "Issues" page on his website” Read at Fox News ↗ Left · 1Raw Story, citing a report by The Washington Sun, said a saved copy of the page showed text under the banner saying Trump had endorsed Rounds, and that a large endorsement banner at the bottom of the page had also gone. Raw StoryL “A big banner announcing the Trump endorsement has also disappeared from the bottom of the page” Read at Raw Story ↗
Right · 1Rounds' campaign advisor, Rob Skjonsberg, told Fox News Digital that not every mention was removed. He said the endorsement is still "front and center" in the announcement video on the site, and that it is "not abnormal to hone in on general election messaging." Fox NewsR “"The president’s endorsement is still front and center on the website in Mike’s announcement video,"”“"But, generally speaking, it’s not abnormal to hone in on general election messaging."” Read at Fox News ↗ Mixed · 2Rounds is running against independent Brian Bengs, who lost to Sen. John Thune in 2022 as a Democrat. Raw Story said recent polling shows Bengs within reach, while Fox noted that the Cook Political Report still rates South Dakota "Solidly Republican." Fox NewsR “He’s running against independent Brian Bengs, who previously ran as a Democrat against Senate Majority Leader John Thune”“hasn’t budged from being considered "Solidly Republican," according to the Cook Political Report” Read at Fox News ↗ Raw StoryL “Recent polling shows independent Brian Bengs within reach” Read at Raw Story ↗ Right · 1Bengs said he is "not running against the President." He argued that the change came only when Rounds' poll numbers fell, not over the Iran war or tariffs, and he called on Rounds to debate him. The Rounds campaign called Bengs a "carpet bagger," said the story came from "a Biden communications firm," and said it was "proud of the president’s endorsement." Fox NewsR “it only happened when Mike's poll numbers went down and his big money allies are buying more ads to bail him out”“We’re proud of the president’s endorsement. It’s still front and center,” Read at Fox News ↗
Mixed · 2Both outlets place the change in a wider pattern of Republicans distancing themselves from Trump. Fox cited a Fox News poll last month showing 39% approval of Trump, with the cost of living and the Iran war as sticking points. Raw Story pointed to Rep. Byron Donalds, who reportedly removed Trump references from his Florida governor campaign site, and contrasted Sen. Lindsey Graham's campaign, which said it would not distance itself from Trump. Fox NewsR “a Fox News poll last month found that overall, voters had a 39% approval rating of the president’s performance” Read at Fox News ↗ Raw StoryL “This follows an apparent move by Rep. Byron Donalds, currently running for governor of Florida, to remove Trump references from his site too”“Her spokesperson, T.W. Arrighi, said she won't be looking to put distance between herself and Trump.” Read at Raw Story ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- Presents the removal as another Republican quietly deleting Trump amid a hard midterm fight, within a broader roundup of GOP distancing and Democratic strategy in Plains states.
- Emphasis
- Pattern of Republicans distancing themselves (Donalds), a tighter race, and Graham as a counterexample.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not include the Rounds campaign's response.
- Charged language
- “quietly deletes”“grueling midterm bout”
- For example
-
“adding him to a list of Republicans quietly putting space between themselves and the president” — Raw Story
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Fox News leads with the disappearance of Trump from the site and falling polls, but reports the campaign's rebuttal at length and notes the state's solid-Republican rating.
- Emphasis
- Details of the specific page changes, Trump's approval figures, and the Rounds campaign and Bengs statements.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the Donalds or Graham comparisons.
- Charged language
- “vanishes”“plunge”“cratered”“scrubbed”
- For example
-
“Sen. Mike Rounds' campaign scrubbed several Trump mentions from his website as the president's approval rating craters in South Dakota's Senate race.” — Fox News
What every side reports
- Mentions of Trump's endorsement have been removed from parts of Rounds' campaign website, including the issues page.
- Rounds is running against independent Brian Bengs in South Dakota.
- The change comes amid reports of other Republicans distancing themselves from Trump ahead of the midterms.
Where accounts differ
-
Why the mentions were removed and what it signals
- Left
- Raw Story says Rounds seems to have stripped Trump mentions, adding him to Republicans quietly putting space between themselves and the president, in a race tougher than expected.
- Right
- Fox reports Rounds joined candidates putting distance from Trump, but the campaign calls it ordinary general-election messaging, says the endorsement is still prominent in the video, and attacks Bengs and the story's source.
Mike Rounds person
His campaign says the endorsement remains prominent in the announcement video, that shifting to general-election messaging is normal, and that Bengs and a 'Biden communications firm' are behind the story.
“We’re proud of the president’s endorsement. It’s still front and center,” — Fox News
Donald Trump person
Trump endorsed Rounds last year, calling him an 'incredibly strong advocate' for South Dakota. Neither article reports a response from Trump to the website change.
“Mike Rounds has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN” — Fox News
Left1 article
-
Another Republican senator quietly deletes Trump from campaign amid grueling midterm bout
Critical Short aggregation framing the change as another Republican quietly dropping Trump amid a tough race.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right1 article
-
Trump vanishes from GOP senator's campaign website as poll numbers plunge weeks before election
Mixed Headline stresses Trump vanishing and plunging polls, while the body gives the campaign's rebuttal and Bengs' response.
- 12 Oct 19:46 First Raw StoryL Another Republican senator quietly deletes Trump from campaign amid grueling midterm bout
- 13 Oct 13:22 +17h 36m Fox NewsR Trump vanishes from GOP senator's campaign website as poll numbers plunge weeks before election
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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