There will be no presidential visit to Bartholomew County next week.
Contrary to reports and speculation, President Donald Trump will not travel to Columbus on Thursday — two days after the Indiana primary, said Barb Hackman, chairwoman of the Bartholomew County Republican Party.
Earlier reports suggested that Trump would attend a campaign event with 6th District GOP candidate Greg Pence, who lives in Columbus.
Rumors first began to circulate last week after state GOP officials were informed there was a possibility of a presidential visit to Indiana, she said.
However, Indiana Republicans were also told by their sources in Washington that no confirmation could be made until this week, Hackman said.
“From my understanding, it was never supposed to be a campaign event for Greg Pence,” Hackman said. “It was more for whoever wins the Senate primary, as well as for state-elected officials.”
Thursday morning, Hackman became inundated with phone calls from local Republicans expressing excitement about a presidential visit, she said.
“They were all ready to go,” Hackman said. “And if it were true, I think it would have been awesome.”
But after calling multiple party sources attempting to get details, Hackman said she received confirmation late Thursday morning that Trump will not be coming to Columbus next week.
Additionally, the Indiana Republican Party never received any information that the Trump was likely to visit Columbus on May 10, spokesman Pete Seat said.
Depending on the nature of a visit to any Indiana city, it would be up to either the Trump campaign or White House officials to provide such confirmation, Seat said.
While the prospects of a presidential visit to Indiana next week remains unclear, Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to return to his home state for a May 18 event in Carmel, hosted by America First Policies.
