Former President Donald Trump made a last minute cancelation to a planned rally in North Carolina on Saturday night citing severe weather – his first major public appearance since the New York hush money trial began.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing in the case.
“We want to keep everybody safe. That’s the most important thing,” ABC News reports Trump was heard saying in a live phone call blasted out to the crowd gathered at the rally in Wilmington, adding they will “just do a rain check.”
Doors opened for attendees at 3 p.m. and Trump was slated to speak at the rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, a crucial battleground state in the 2024 presidential election, around 7 p.m.
His cancel call came around 30 minutes before proceedings were due to begin, Newsweek confirmed.
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Trump used part of his message broadcast to reaffirm for supporters, “I’m so sad. I’m in North Carolina right now. Waiting to go in. But they’re saying the weather is really getting bad, really, really getting bad. So we have to rely on the Weather Service and some of the officials and I just want to thank you, I’m so sorry.
“But we’ll do it again. It will do it bigger and better.”
North Carolina voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 and his visit was destined to shore up support ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
No date has been set for the rescheduled rally to take place.
