Former President Donald Trump postponed his rally slated for Saturday in Arizona until next Friday in response to the death of his first wife, Ivana Trump, on Thursday.
Donald Trump had been slated to hit the Grand Canyon State to support several Republican contenders vying for the party nod in the August primary, including gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lakem, Senate contender Blake Masters, and secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem.
FIRST WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP, IVANA, DIES AT 73
“Out of love and respect for Ivana, our big Arizona Rally will be postponed until next Friday,” he wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
The former president’s planned rally, which was set to take place in Prescott Valley, Arizona, was poised to be his second major appearance in Arizona this year as he seeks to bolster firebrand MAGA contenders ahead of the Aug. 2 primary election, which will test Trump’s clout within the GOP.
Trump has peddled heavily disputed assertions of election malfeasance in Arizona and other states during the 2020 election. During the primary season, Trump has endorsed dozens of candidates who have iterated his claims about the election. In Arizona, for example, both Lake and Finchem have voiced skepticism about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, and Masters, who is tied to former Facebook executive Peter Thiel, has blasted the role of Big Tech in the election. All three candidates have been known to appeal to the populist wing of the Republican Party, similar to Trump.
Once considered a red state, Arizona has increasingly become swung toward Democrats, having voted for President Joe Biden in the last election. The Senate race involving Masters is regarded as one of the most competitive in the country and could determine the balance of power in the upper chamber after the November election.
Ivana Trump, 73, died suddenly Thursday, according to the Trump family. Police responded to reports of a cardiac event at her residence on the Upper East Side and found her unconscious near the bottom of a staircase, a New York Police Department spokesperson told Fox News. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and police have not yet determined whether her apparent fall contributed to her death, per the NYPD.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Donald and Ivana Trump were married from 1977 to 1992 and raised three children together: Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. After 15 years of marriage, their relationship ended in divorce due to Donald Trump’s affair with Marla Maples.
On Friday, New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office granted the Trump family’s request to postpone depositions expected to take place next week out of respect following the death of Ivana Trump.
