Trump no longer coming to Arizona; AZGOP Freedom Fest canceled

Former President Donald Trump will no longer be coming to Arizona this week, where he was scheduled to speak during a GOP rally Friday evening in Phoenix. The AZGOP Freedom Fest has also been canceled, an Arizona Republican Party spokesperson confirmed to Arizona’s Family.

Trump was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the event. Other speakers who were scheduled to appear included Congress members Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar and Eli Crane, as well as U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, Abe Hamadeh, Charlie Kirk and Tyler Bowyer. Tickets to the event were sold through eventbrite, and a state GOP spokesperson says refunds will be issued.

The announcement that Trump wouldn’t be coming to Arizona was made soon after the former president briefly took the stand in a New York defamation trial that will determine how much he could owe advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. It’s unclear if the trial had any bearing on the decision to cancel the trip.

The news also comes a day after the Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party resigned. Jeff DeWit stepped down amid pressure after a British tabloid released secretly recorded audio clips of him reportedly trying to bribe Lake to keep her from running for U.S. Senate.