Trump fundraiser in Utah postponed

SALT LAKE CITY — Former President Donald Trump will no longer be visiting Utah next week, after a fundraiser scheduled for Park City was postponed.

In an email sent to donors Thursday morning, Taylor Binkley, a regional finance director for the Republican National Committee, said the event is “postponed” due to “changes in the President’s schedule.”

“He looks forward to seeing you in Park City soon,” the email read. “We will let you know as soon as new date is confirmed.”

This is the second time the Utah fundraiser has been postponed. In April, the fundraiser was scheduled for late June, but Trump later agreed to a debate with President Joe Biden on the same night. In July, organizers scheduled the fundraiser for Aug. 29.

The event is being organized by George Glass, a Trump campaign fundraiser and former ambassador to Portugal, and Marlon Bateman, a State Department official during the Trump administration. In the email, Binkley thanked Glass and Bateman — along with co-host Doug Quezada — for being “loyal supporters of the President” and “close friends.”

The Trump campaign recently underwent personnel changes, including bringing back 2016 campaign manager Cory Lewandowski. With less than three months until Election Day, the campaign is retraining its focus on battleground states, like nearby Arizona and Nevada.

Further, perceived infighting within the Utah Republican Party — like gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman’s write-in campaign — concerned top Trump campaign officials, according to a person close to the deliberations.

The price tag for attending the fundraiser was $10,000 to get inside the reception, and $35,000 to get a picture with Trump, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by the Deseret News. To become a co-host, it cost $150,000; to join the host committee, $500,000.

To date, the Utah fundraiser garnered over $8 million in commitments, one organizer said. Co-hosts included John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s Pizza, and talk show host Glenn Beck.

The event would be Trump’s first visit to Utah since 2017, when he announced reductions to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. During his 2016 campaign, Trump held one rally in Salt Lake City.

During this election cycle, Democrats have held three fundraisers in Utah, each hosted by Nancy and Mark Gilbert, the former ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. In August, President Joe Biden headlined an event at the Gilbert home in Park City; in January, first lady Jill Biden visited, and in June, Vice President Kamala Harris visited.