President Trump canceled a rally in Jackson, Miss., scheduled for Friday evening as Hurricane Florence barreled toward the East Coast, with the D.C. area in its projected path.
“With Hurricane Florence on its way, we determined that this is the safest decision,” the Trump campaign’s chief operating officer Michael Glassner said in a statement.
Trump had planned on campaigning for Cindy Hyde-Smith in her race for the Senate. Hyde-Smith was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by Republican Sen. Thad Cochran in April.
It would have been the fourth rally Trump held in the state since he began campaigning for president in 2015, according to the campaign.
Hurricane Florence intensified to a Category 4 storm on Monday as it approached the Carolinas with winds near 130 mph.
The governors of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia have all declared a state of emergency. Residents of North Carolina’s Outer Banks barrier islands have been ordered to evacuate.
Florence is expected to make landfall later this week.
