President Trump to hold rally in Las Vegas next week

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally in the Las Vegas Convention Center at noon Friday — one day before the Nevada Democratic caucuses.

It’s a sign that Trump has decided to go all in on Nevada.

On Wednesday, the White House confirmed that Trump would speak at a graduation ceremony at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters Thursday for Hope for Prisoners, a Las Vegas program that helps ex-inmates re-enter society, a signature issue for the president.

Then the Review-Journal learned that Trump would arrive Tuesday night in Las Vegas — an indication that the Trump campaign will work to flip Nevada red in November. The decision to hold a Friday rally — and the execution to set up the event — happened within a period of about 24 hours, according to Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald.

“The president loves the people of Las Vegas, of Nevada,” McDonald said. “If the opportunity presented itself, the president wanted the rally.”

The last-minute campaign event will pack Trump’s schedule next week.

While the White House and Trump campaign do not disclose where Trump stays when he travels, the president usually stays at his Trump International when he is in town.

Wednesday Trump will leave Las Vegas for a golf fundraiser in Rancho Mirage, California, before he heads to Phoenix for a 7 p.m. campaign rally. The Las Vegas Democratic debate starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday, probably occurring during the window when Air Force One returns to Las Vegas.

Thursday, Trump will speak at the Hope for Prisoners graduation around 11:30 a.m., then head to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for a 5 p.m. rally.

After returning to Las Vegas on Thursday night, Trump will speak at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Friday. After the rally, Trump returns to the White House.

He will not attend the meeting of the Republican Central Committee in Pahrump on Saturday, where party leaders are expected to vote to bind the state’s Republican delegates to the president. The state Republican Party decided to forego a caucus in this cycle.

After speaking at three rallies in three days in three states, with attending a California fundraiser and Las Vegas graduation speech, Trump will have one day to rest up before he heads to India for a two-day visit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The rally was announced Saturday morning, the first day of early voting for Nevada’s caucuses.

It again showed Trump’s commitment to steal the spotlight from the Democratic nominating contests. Trump spoke at Keep America Great rallies in Des Moines ahead of the Iowa caucuses and in Manchester before New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.

Trump is scheduled to speak Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 2, a day before Super Tuesday.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at DSaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.