Sen. Mike Rounds has scrubbed multiple President Trump mentions from his campaign website as poll numbers fell, a change his independent rival ties directly to the slide.
Fox News Digital reviewed an older version of the Rounds campaign site and found the president’s name and endorsement had stood out as recently as last month. Two homepage references are now gone, including a line that read “Endorsed by President Trump” and a photo that touted the backing. Trump’s name also disappeared from two spots on the Issues page, in the “Put America First” and “Education” sections.
The South Dakota Republican is seeking a third Senate term in a state that remains solidly in GOP hands. Cook Political Report still rates the race “Solidly Republican.” Yet the timing of the website cleanup has drawn fire from his independent challenger just as Election Day draws closer.
Rounds campaign advisor Rob Skjonsberg pushed back hard. He said the president’s endorsement remains easy to find.
"The president’s endorsement is still front and center on the website in Mike’s announcement video,"
Skjonsberg told Fox News Digital. He added that campaigns routinely tighten their general-election message.
"But, generally speaking, it’s not abnormal to hone in on general election messaging."
Last year President Trump gave Rounds his full backing on Truth Social. Trump called the senator an “incredibly strong advocate for the wonderful people of South Dakota, a State I love, and WON BIG, in 2016, 2020, and 2024!” and declared, “Mike Rounds has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election, HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN.”
Skjonsberg stressed the campaign still stands by that support.
"We’re proud of the president’s endorsement. It’s still front and center,"
Brian Bengs, the independent running against Rounds, offered a different explanation. Bengs previously ran as a Democrat against Senate Majority Leader John Thune in 2022 and lost badly; Thune took more than 70 percent of the vote. Now Bengs says the website changes only appeared after Rounds’ numbers softened and big-money allies started buying more ads.
"I'm not running against the President,"
Bengs said. He continued:
"But to me it says a lot that this didn't happen because of the Iran War that's raising our costs or the tariffs that are hurting us, it only happened when Mike's poll numbers went down and his big money allies are buying more ads to bail him out. I hope Mike finds the courage to debate me, so we can talk about it."
A Fox News poll last month showed overall voters giving the president a 39 percent approval rating on his performance. Bengs tied the site edits to that broader pressure. The Rounds campaign rejected the charge and went straight at Bengs’ record and outside help.
"Bengs, quite likely the most unlikable carpet bagger candidate to ever run in South Dakota, is doing what socialists do, trying to distract from his own liberal positions,"
Skjonsberg said. “He can’t defend his positions, so he attacks.” He also claimed a Biden-linked communications firm was pushing the story and reminded voters that Bengs “still wants to increase your taxes, take away your guns and expand Obamacare.”
South Dakota has not shifted the way some other red states have. Trump carried it decisively in recent cycles, and the seat has long been safe Republican territory. Still, the approach of Election Day has prompted other Republicans in tighter races, including Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa and former Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan, to voice public disagreement with pieces of the president’s agenda, among them the conflict in Iran and support for data centers.
Rounds’ team maintains it has not abandoned the endorsement. It has simply adjusted which pages carry the president’s name. The announcement video still features it. The independent challenger keeps pressing the poll-numbers angle and calling for a debate. Voters in a state that has stayed firmly Republican will decide which account holds up.
In a deep-red state that already knows where it stands, candidates who suddenly sand down a clear Trump endorsement invite the exact scrutiny they claim to avoid, and hand their opponents a free opening.
