Trump Has No Events Nov. 25, White House Says, Contradicting Reports of Pennsylvania Trip

Trump Has No Events Nov. 25, White House Says, Contradicting Reports of Pennsylvania Trip
President Donald Trump, followed by Vice President Mike Pence, left, walks into the briefing room at the White House in Washington, on Nov. 24, 2020. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo)
Zachary Stieber
11/25/2020
Updated:
11/25/2020

President Donald Trump has no public events on his schedule on Wednesday, even though reports indicated he'd participate in an election-related hearing in Pennsylvania.

The traveling press pool—reporters who travel with the president and cover what he does—were getting ready to leave for Gettysburg but were told at the last minute that their trip was canceled.

The White House said Trump’s schedule has no updates.

Pennsylvania’s GOP had said Trump was going to participate in the hearing, along with his lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

The apparent cancellation came after Boris Epshteyn, a surrogate, tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Both Trump and Giuliani have had the disease in recent months, meaning they’re likely immune.

The hearing starts at 12:30 p.m. It is being held at the Wyndham Hotel in Gettysburg.

Attendance was not on Trump’s public schedule.

The Senate Majority Policy Committee agreed to hold the hearing at the request of state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Republican. The hearing will discuss “issues and irregularities” related to the election, Pennsylvania Senate Republicans said.

“Elections are a fundamental principle of our democracy—unfortunately, Pennsylvanians have lost faith in the electoral system. It is unacceptable,” said Mastriano, who has called for the resignation of Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar for alleged negligence and incompetence.

“Over the past few weeks, I have heard from thousands of Pennsylvanians regarding issues experienced at the polls, irregularities with the mail-in voting system, and concerns whether their vote was counted. We need to correct these issues to restore faith in our republic.”

State Sen. David Argall, a Republican who chairs the committee, is set to join the hearing, as well Senate Majority Leader-Elect Kim Ward and state Reps. Dan Moul, Rob Kauffman, and Paul Schemel.

Allegheny County election employees organize ballots at the Allegheny County elections warehouse in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Nov. 7, 2020. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Allegheny County election employees organize ballots at the Allegheny County elections warehouse in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Nov. 7, 2020. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

“We want assurance that the issues encountered during this past election don’t happen again,” said Argall in a statement. “Senator Mastriano requested this meeting because Pennsylvanians deserve a fair election.”

Trump and his campaign have alleged irregularities with the way Pennsylvania conducted the Nov. 3 election, including an extension of the deadline for reception of mail-in ballots.

That case is being weighed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered Boockvar to separate late-arriving ballots in the event they’re declared invalid.

According to results from the state, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden beat Trump by over 80,000 votes.

Biden received nearly 2 million votes by mail, compared to under 600,000 for Trump. The president beat Biden in Election Day voting by over 1.3 million.

Biden’s campaign has dismissed the Trump campaign’s legal efforts.

“Trump did everything he could to disenfranchise voters and stop the results from being certified in Pennsylvania,” the Biden campaign’s legal adviser Bob Bauer said in a statement Tuesday after the state certified its results.

“Trump did not succeed in Pennsylvania and he will not succeed anywhere else,” he added.