Trump to Hold Midterm Rally in Fort Myers Today: Remarks Set for 2 p.m. at Alico Arena
President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a midterm campaign rally today, Friday, October 23, at Alico Arena on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida, with remarks set for 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The stop comes in the final stretch before the November 3 midterm elections, in a week that has already taken Trump to rallies in Iowa, Kansas and the Carolinas.
According to the organizers and local media, doors at Alico Arena open at 10:30 a.m., the program begins at 12:30 p.m., and Trump's remarks are scheduled for 2 p.m. The arena holds 4,633 people, including 300 standing-room places. Tickets were distributed through the Republican events ticketing page, limited to four per person.
Trump is expected to fly into Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), about six miles from the FGCU campus, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a temporary flight restriction for the visit. Airport spokesperson Victoria Moreland advised travelers on Friday flights between noon and 5 p.m. to arrive early, with intermittent road closures expected on Chamberlin Parkway and Air Cargo Lane and the airport's aircraft viewing area closed for the day.
The rally takes place on the home turf of U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who lives in Naples and is the Republican nominee for governor of Florida. His race against Democrat David Jolly is tight: a University of North Florida poll released this month put Donalds just 2 points ahead in the governor's race. Trump endorsed Donalds early and had publicly urged him to run. According to the Palm Beach Post, Trump is expected to return to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach after the rally.
FGCU President Aysegul Timur told students, faculty and staff in a campus-wide email on October 19 that the rental agreement for Friday's event at Alico Arena had been finalized, noting that the university routinely rents its facilities for private events including concerts and galas. The News-Press reported divided reactions on campus, with some students eager to see a sitting president in person and others criticizing the university for hosting a campaign rally weeks before Election Day.
Early voting in Lee County runs through October 31, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, at any of the county's early voting sites. Election Day is November 3.
Related: 北佛罗里达大学民调：佛州州长与参议员选战双双胶着，Byron Donalds 仅领先 2 个百分点
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：集会场馆——位于 Fort Myers 的 Florida Gulf Coast University 的 Alico Arena（资料图），Twhair 摄，经 Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0。Photo: Alico Arena at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, the rally venue (file photo), by Twhair, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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