Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump was greeted by a massive cheering crowd of supporters as he disembarked Trump Force One at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport ahead of his campaign fundraiser.
Trump’s plane landed at 5 p.m. local time, an arrival delayed by two hours due to weather conditions, and was met with several hundred cheering supporters who had waited for him behind the gates of the airport in 90-degree heat.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate for this year’s governor race, was the first to greet the 45th president as he stepped off the plane surrounded by supporters.
According to footage posted to Twitter, Trump waved to the crowd of hundreds as he stepped off the plane and met and took pictures with supporters and members of law enforcement before heading off to his campaign event.
Trump spent a few hours in Louisiana on Tuesday evening with donors in the state to help support his election campaign. His former state campaign chairmen, Boysie Bollinger and Joe Canizaro, hosted a campaign fundraiser inside Canizaro’s home in Old Metairie.
Attendees of the event were also reportedly asked to donate at least $23,000 to Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to a report from the Shreveport Times.
Before arriving at Old Metairie, Trump visited the renowned Café du Monde in New Orleans. He was greeted by cheering crowds as he entered the beignet restaurant, where he first approached the press to deliver brief remarks.
When asked by reporters if he was worried about his ongoing indictments, Trump replied with a resounding “no.”
“We have a lot of crooked people running our nation,” he replied. “Our country is failing. We have to turn it around. That’s very important.”
Trump then walked to the take-out window to order beignets, asking the server to give him “the best you have.” When he was served, Trump reportedly tipped the staff $100 before departing for the fundraiser.
Trump’s latest campaign event comes amid his historic fundraising haul in 2023. As previously reported by RSBN, Trump received $35 million in campaign donations in the second fiscal quarter of 2023, nearly doubling the $18.8 million he raked in during the first quarter.
Louisiana is not expected to be competitive in the presidential general election next year, as President Trump won the state by almost 20 points in 2016 and 2020.
However, all eyes will be on the state’s gubernatorial election later this year, as the Trump-endorse candidate Jeff Landry hopes to succeed the state’s term-limited Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Louisiana elections are also conducted through a “Jungle primary” system, meaning all candidates, regardless of political party, run against each other in the state’s primaries. The two candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election later that year.
