President Trump postpones NC rally due to weather but will be back before Election Day
President Donald Trump is postponing his Thursday visit to Fayetteville because of a wind advisory and instead will visit the swing state the day before Election Day, his campaign announced.
The event was set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The campaign said wind gusts could reach up to 50 miles per hour, according to an email.
The visit, now scheduled Monday, will be one of more than two dozen visits Trump and campaign surrogates have made to North Carolina in recent months.
It’s his second visit to Fayetteville Regional Airport, where he also held a rally last month.
Vice President Mike Pence made stops in Wilmington and Greensboro this week and will return to the state Saturday for two stops. He will be at the Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport in Elm City at 11 a.m. and the Elizabeth City Regional Airport in Elizabeth City at 1 p.m.
Meanwhile, Trump’s family members are criss-crossing the state. Trump’s daughter Tiffany Trump visited Charlotte on Tuesday.
Most recently, Trump’s daughter Tiffany Trump visited Charlotte on Tuesday, and Ivanka Trump, another daughter and adviser, was in Charlotte on Wednesday.
Son Eric Trump will also come to Ellerbe and Elizabethtown on Friday.
Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has made numerous stops in North Carolina in recent months. After visiting Johnston County on Wednesday, she will be Raleigh Friday at 10 a.m. at The Pavilion at Carriage Farm. Doors open at 9 a.m. Admission info is here.
In a phone interview with The News & Observer Wednesday night, Lara Trump said North Carolina is a must-win state for the president.
Lara Trump also expressed her confidence that women would turn out for Trump this year. She pointed to 2016, saying polls showed women wouldn’t vote for him, but they did, even with Hillary Clinton as his opponent.
“This president did things like doubling the child tax credit, which for working moms is a huge deal,” Lara Trump said. “Paid family leave is something that this president has pushed forward unlike any other president. School choice for parents out there is huge as well. He has been a champion of that.”
Eric Trump came to Raleigh on Friday, Oct. 23, for an “Evangelicals for Trump” event. About 500 people gathered for the indoor event at RFA Church on Yonkers Road. Most people wore masks as they entered the building, but as they sat down many of the masks slid down under chins or hung from a single ear.
Lara Trump said the campaign encourages mask-wearing at every event.
“At Trump rallies, we actually give masks to people and ask them to wear them,” she said. “We have signs up at Trump rallies that say ‘Please wear masks.’ It is still the United States of America. People still do have their personal freedom and choices. They are choosing to come to these events.”
Indoor mass gatherings in North Carolina are currently limited to 25 people, but there are exceptions for political events or others that fall under the First Amendment.
Two people who attended President Trump’s outdoor rally at Gastonia Municipal Airport on Oct. 21 have tested positive for COVID-19, Gaston County’s health department announced Thursday. The county said the cases are believed to be independent of one another and not an indication of viral spread at the rally.
Danielle Battaglia contributed to this report.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 2:34 PM.
