Trump Reschedules Salina Rally to Sunday

Residents of Salina must rebook their tickets if they had reserved seats for the campaign rally originally planned for Saturday. The Republican National Committee confirmed that President Donald Trump will hold the event on Sunday instead. The new start time is 5:30 p.m., with doors opening at 3:30 p.m. at Hangar 509 on the Salina Regional Airport grounds. Trump is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m.

The change affects voters in a tight U.S. Senate race. Incumbent Republican Roger Marshall is running against Democrat Adam Hamilton. Recent polls show Hamilton leading by a few points. The RNC initially announced on Thursday that the Salina rally would be replaced by a tele-rally to reach more voters. A person familiar with the plans stated that the in-person events in Iowa and Kansas were rearranged to fit new tele-rallies added to Trump's schedule.

Local residents expressed a mix of relief and frustration regarding the scheduling shifts. Tomas Perez, a Salina resident, described the back-and-forth as a roller coaster. "I think it’s good for Salina, I really do," Perez said. "You kind of go on the roller coaster for sure. Yeah, you’re all excited thinking, ‘man, we’re gonna get on the map,’ then it cancelled out, then decided to come back. So we’ll see how it plays out."

Anita Popelka, another local resident, welcomed the visit. "I think it’s pretty cool that we got a standing president coming to Salina, Kansas," Popelka said. Brian Berneking noted that some voters may still feel annoyed by the initial cancellation. "I think there might be some lingering frustration, maybe a little bit of animosity for him cancelling it in the first place, but the fact that he’s coming back, I think everybody’s going to be more thrilled than anything," Berneking said.

Perez expects both supporters and protesters to attend. "I think we’ll have supporters there. I think we’ll have some probably protesters, seems like," Perez said. "Salina kind of goes both ways there." He is currently checking his schedule to determine if he can attend the Sunday event.

The RNC confirmed the back-to-back rally itinerary for the president. The Kansas stop serves as a final push for Marshall. Tickets for the Sunday event are available online. Those who secured tickets for the original Saturday date must sign up again to secure their spots for the new time.