Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was forced to cancel her planned trip to Charlotte, after the Democratic mayor of the city begged her on live television to stay home.
Clinton aides announced on Friday afternoon that Hillary would visit the city on Sunday, but were forced to reverse their plans just hours later.
“After further discussion with community leaders, we have decided to postpone Sunday’s trip as to not impact the city’s resources,” noted Clinton’s communications director Jennifer Palmieri in a carefully worded statement released late Friday night.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, a Democrat who has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, urged the Democratic nominee to postpone her scheduled visit on Sunday in an interview on CNN.
She indicated that both presidential candidates were considering a visit to Charlotte, although Clinton was the only candidate who had announced her plans.
“If there would be a way to delay those visits in terms of giving us a chance to get our city back to order and back to a state of normalcy that would probably be ideal,” Roberts said in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett on Friday night.
Although Donald Trump was also considering a visit to Charlotte after the first presidential debate, his campaign also abandoned their plans.
Roberts said she appreciated that the presidential candidates were concerned about the city, but said an early visit would stress the city’s resources.
“At this point we do have very stressed resources for security,” she said. “They are working around the clock.”
Clinton planned visit would have taken place the same day that Charlotte will be hosting an NFL football game, as the Minnesota Vikings play the Panthers. The event will likely be the focal point for additional protests.
The Clinton campaign indicated in their statement that Hillary will visit Charlotte the following Sunday.
Trump reacted to the news on Twitter, ridiculing the candidate for not contacting the community first.
Crooked Hillary's bad judgement forced her to announce that she would go to Charlotte on Saturday to grandstand. Dem pols said no way, dumb!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2016
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