WILMINGTON, N.C. — Former President Donald Trump canceled his North Carolina rally Saturday evening at the last minute, citing stormy weather as the cause.
Trump, who had not yet arrived to the event, called by phone to announce that the event was off as thunder and rain began to darken the outdoor rally.
“There seems to be some thunder and lightning. It’s a pretty big storm, so if you don’t mind, I think we’re going to have to just do a rain check,” Trump said over the speaker system.
Following Trump’s announcement, loud groans and shouts of disappointment were heard from the crowd before their swift departure.
It was set to be Trump’s first rally since the start of his criminal trial in Manhattan.
Trump told the crowd that he planned to reschedule the event for a later time, promising a “rain check.”
“What we’ll do is we’ll make up for this very quickly at another time, but we’ll do it as quick as possible,” Trump said. “I’m so sad. I’m in North Carolina right now.”
The event was taking place outdoors near the Wilmington airport. Though heavy rainfall had not yet began at the time of the cancellation, lightning strikes became increasingly visible, fueling safety concerns.
“We want to keep everybody safe. It’s the most important thing. We want everybody there to be 100% safe,” Trump said.
This rally was scheduled to be Trump’s second campaign event in North Carolina — a key swing state crucial to both Trump and Biden’s path to victory. Trump narrowly carried the state in 2020 by a margin less than 1.5%.
Trump was in court most of the week for jury selection in his criminal trial, where he is charged with 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records. Prosecutors allege that he falsified business records ahead of the 2016 election to hide payments to adult firm star Stormy Daniels.
Opening statements begin in the trial on Monday, and the trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.