Donald Trump cancels visit to Arizona, cites scheduling conflict with a court hearing

Former President Donald Trump has canceled his Friday visit to Arizona, which was intended to help raise money for the state Republican Party, which is now in turmoil following the abrupt resignation on Wednesday of its chair, Jeff DeWit.

An Arizona GOP spokesperson confirmed the cancellation to The Arizona Republic on Thursday afternoon. The reason for the change in plans was not immediately clear.

Trump had been scheduled to hold a rally at Dream City Church in north Phoenix as part of the Arizona GOP's Freedom Fest event.

"President Trump will be in NYC for court Friday and unable to make the event, but will be back to Arizona as soon as possible," Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a written statement provided to The Arizona Republic. "We look forward to winning Arizona for President Trump, electing (Senate candidate) Kari Lake and working with the AZGOP to do it."

The entire Freedom Fest event is canceled because Trump is not coming, according to Dajana Zlatičanin, an Arizona GOP spokesperson.

Closing arguments in writer E. Jean Carroll's defamation damages case against Trump are set for Friday in New York City. Trump gave brief testimony Thursday in the trial.

The cancellation comes one day after DeWit, the party's chair, resigned after the release of a March 2023 audio recording in which he offered Kari Lake a lucrative job to stay out of the U.S. Senate race. Lake rejected what she characterized as a bribe.

In his resignation, DeWit said "Lake's team" threatened to release another, more damaging recording. In the recording, DeWit cast doubt on Lake's election prospects and expressed doubt about Trump's chances. In comments to NBC News, DeWit said there was widespread doubt about Lake's elective viability.

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Both DeWit and Lake are among the most prominent Trump loyalists in Arizona. Their falling out leaves the Arizona GOP suddenly searching for a new leader and comes as DeWit was trying to rebuild its financial footing, something a Trump visit could have helped.

Instead, the party faces new questions ahead of its annual meeting on Saturday.

DeWit made clear in his resignation that he had hoped to stay in his post until receiving what he viewed as a threat from Lake's team.

"I have decided not to take the risk," DeWit wrote. "I am resigning as Lake requested, in the hope that she will honor her commitment to cease her attacks."

Hours later, Lake told an online audience DeWit's efforts were "disgusting" but didn't address why she waited until this week to release the recording and her campaign maintained no one there tried to blackmail DeWit.

The cancellation also comes at a time when Trump was looking to build momentum for a general election campaign after his sweep of the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.

Trump briefly testified in New York on Thursday in a case to assess damages against him for continuing to defame E. Jean Carroll, the woman who successfully sued him for sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. Closing arguments in that case are scheduled for Friday.

Republic reporter Ray Stern contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Donald Trump cancels Phoenix visit after Kari Lake, Jeff DeWit feud