ATLANTA — Erick Erickson has rescinded Donald Trump’s invitation to appear at the Red State Gathering on Saturday. Erickson, the conservative editor of RedState.com, posted a message on Twitter saying he had decided to disinvite the reality television star because of indecent comments he made on Friday.
“I have rescinded my invitation to Mr.Trump. While I have tried to give him great latitude, his remark about Megyn Kelly was a bridge too far,” Erickson explained on Twitter.
Trump threw a tantrum on Twitter about the treatment he received at the Thursday debate from Fox News’ hosts, specifically Kelly. On Friday, he appeared on CNN to say he had “no respect” for her.
“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever,” Trump said.
I stand with @megynkelly.
— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) August 8, 2015
Mr. Trump: There. Is. No. Excuse.
— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) August 8, 2015
Trump has yet to comment on Erickson’s decision. Carly Fiorina, the only major female GOP presidential candidate, wasted no time in rebuking Trump for his remarks about Kelly.
Erickson made his decision to rescind Trump’s invitation public shortly before midnight on Saturday morning. Earlier this week, Erickson touted Trump’s scheduled appearance to loud applause from conservative activists. RedState has been promoting his appearance at the event a few days and repeatedly talked about the large crowd it expected would attend the tailgate celebration featuring Trump.
Approximately one hour before Erickson kicked Trump off the official schedule, the Trump campaign emailed reporters about his appearance in Atlanta and his media availability after the “Keynote speech” that he was expected to deliver.
Erickson has since posted a statement on RedState.com, in which he said it was unfortunate to have to disinvite Trump, but “I just don’t want someone on stage who gets a hostile question from a lady and his first inclination is to imply it was hormonal.”
“I have tried to give a great deal of latitude to Donald Trump in his run for the presidency,” Erickson wrote. “He is not a professional politician and is known for being a blunt talker. He connects with so much of the anger in the Republican base and is not afraid to be outspoken on a lot of issues. But there are even lines blunt talkers and unprofessional politicians should not cross. Decency is one of those lines. As much as I do personally like Donald Trump, his comment about Megyn Kelly on CNN is a bridge too far for me.”
A Trump campaign spokesperson said Trump will now be stopping at a different location on Saturday.
“This is just another example of weakness through being politically correct,” the Trump campaign told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “For all of the people who were looking forward to Mr. Trump coming, we will miss you. Blame Erick Erickson, your weak and pathetic leader.”
