Donald Trump Jr. Cancels Appearance At Florida High School
Donald Trump Jr. Wednesday pulled out of a scheduled appearance at a so-called Campus Clash event at a high school in Davie, Florida, but the reason for the cancellation was not clear, according to WPLG-TV.
Trump and girlfriend, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, had appeared at a similar event in Athens, Georgia, the night before, sponsored by Turning Point USA, an organization headed by conservative writer Charlie Kirk and commentator Candace Owens.
Organizers said that Trump and Guilfoyle cancelled their appearance at Nova High School because of Hurricane Michael, which was hitting the Florida panhandle near Tallahassee at the time, the television station stated. Davie is located near Miami in the southeastern part of the state.
According to WPLG-TV, some Nova parents, though, expressed concern about security at the event. High school officials, in turn, cancelled all after-school activities there Wednesday while Davie police said it would provide security.
The Miami New Times reported that the Turning Point USA Florida branch had been advertising that Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle would appear at Nova High School and speak at the auditorium.
Broward County Public Schools representative Cathleen Brennan told New Times that she was not aware if Trump Jr. would actually appear but confirmed that Turning Point USA had a contract to hold the event there.
The Athens Banner-Herald reported that 100 protesters appeared at the Turning Point USA event at The Classic Center, sponsored by its University of Georgia chapter. The protesters chanted and engaged people wearing Make America Great Again hats outside of the center, per the newspaper.
The red MAGA hats have come to signify Trump supporters after President Donald Trump popularized them during his 2016 presidential campaign.
“I’m a religion major and a Christian myself,” Brandon Helton, a University of Georgia master’s student, told the Banner-Herald. “I take issue with the way the (Trump) administration speaks toward marginalized groups, like immigrants and the LGBT community.”
The newspaper said that a few of the protesters managed to get inside The Classic Center, shouting at speakers during the event, and about 50 walked out during a question-and-answer session.
Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, who was trailing Democrat Stacey Abrams in early polls, spoke at the event standing next to Trump Jr., according to the Banner-Herald. President Trump backed Kemp in the Georgia gubernatorial primary earlier this year.
“With common sense, with conservative policies, you have the highest rate of (growth domestic product) growth in history,” Trump Jr. told the crowd, touting his father’s record on the economy, the newspaper stated. “Had Barack Obama created 4 million new jobs in the amount of time Donald Trump did, he would be a deity.”
