Trump attempted to send a U.S. Senator as his substitute for an event in Iowa, but was denied.

Trump’s Attempt to Send a Surrogate Rejected by Event Organizer

Former President Donald Trump reportedly tried to send a U.S. senator as a surrogate for him at an event in Iowa this week, but his request was denied by the leader of the organization behind the event.

Trump is skipping THE FAMiLY LEADER event on Friday, hosted by Blaze Media and Tucker Carlson, due to a “scheduling conflict” involving a speech he is supposed to give at the Turning Point Action conference near Mar-a-Lago over the weekend. Notably, Carlson will be present at both events.

Bob Vander Plaats, an influential evangelical leader in Iowa and the President and CEO of The FAMiLY Leader, revealed that he was informed of Trump’s absence from the event where his top challenger, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is set to appear.

New York Times reporter Jonathan Swan shared that Trump later reached out to Vander Plaats, attempting to send U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his surrogate, but the request was turned down.

“Team Trump reached out to Bob Vander Plaats earlier today and requested to send Senator JD Vance to Friday’s event as a surrogate for Trump,” Swan reported. “Vander Plaats denied the request.”

Swan later received a text message from Vander Plaats confirming the incident.

“Yes, they did reach out to me and graciously offered JD Vance as a surrogate for President Trump,” Vander Plaats wrote. “Our policy has always been to decline surrogates or video presentations for our Summits. The Trump representative accepted and appreciated our rationale.”

Vander Plaats texts: “Yes, they did reach out to me and graciously offered JD Vance as a surrogate for President Trump. Our policy has always been to decline surrogates or video presentations for our Summits. The Trump representative accepted and appreciated our rationale.”

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) July 12, 2023

This news coincides with senior Trump advisor Jason Miller’s statement this week that “President Trump has indicated that he’s unlikely to participate” in the Republican Party primary debates.

“It really wouldn’t make much sense for him to go and debate right now with a bunch of folks who are down at three, four, and five percent,” Miller explained. “So ultimately, President Trump will make a decision as we get closer. He has not said anything definitive, one way or the other. I’m not expecting him to participate, though.”

DeSantis, on the other hand, confirmed to Fox News last week that he will attend the debate regardless of Trump’s presence.

“I’ll be there, regardless,” DeSantis asserted. “I hope everybody who is eligible comes. I think it is an important part of the process, and I look forward to being able to be on the stage and introducing our candidacy and our vision, and our leadership to a wide audience.”

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