Former President Trump is expected to hold a rally in Virginia after next week’s presidential debate, as his campaign said the commonwealth could be at stake in November.
The former president will be joined by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), a source confirmed to The Hill, marking the first time the two have made a public appearance together during the 2024 cycle.
The Trump event will likely take place next Friday near Virginia Beach, a second source said, although the final location has not been finalized.
CBS News first reported on the rally in Virginia.
Youngkin mostly kept his distance from Trump during his successful 2021 campaign for the governor’s mansion, and generated buzz as a potential alternative to Trump in the 2024 presidential race. But Youngkin chose not to launch a presidential campaign, saying he was committed to serve the remainder of his term as governor.
Trump and Youngkin met in person for the first time earlier this month at Trump’s golf club in Sterling, Virginia.
Polls showed Virginia could be a much closer race than in 2020, when Biden won by 10 percentage points over Trump.
A Fox News Poll of registered voters in Virginia, conducted June 1-4, showed Biden and Trump tied at 48 percent each. A Roanoke College Poll conducted in mid-May showed the two candidates tied in a head-to-head matchup and found that Biden led Trump by 2 percentage points when third-party candidates were added.
Trump and Biden are expected to meet for the first of two debates scheduled for Thursday in Atlanta. The debate will be presented by CNN.
While Trump will travel to Virginia the next day, President Biden will hold his own campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he will be joined by First Lady Jill Biden.
Biden and Vice President Harris have made several trips to North Carolina this year, while the Biden campaign views the Tar Heel state as a battleground that could flip from red to blue in November.
Trump carried North Carolina in 2020 by less than 2 percentage points, and polls outside the state in 2024 so far have shown the former president leading his Democratic rival.
ABloomberg/Morning Consult Surveyconducted last month showed Trump leading Biden by 7 percentage points, while aEast Carolina University Researchconducted in early June showed Trump ahead by 5 percentage points.
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