WILDWOOD — Former President Donald J. Trump may be coming back to Wildwood for a beachfront rally next month.
The Board of Commissioners on Monday approved an agreement with the Trump campaign for a May 11 campaign rally.
Rumors have swirled around Wildwood that the former president would be back this year. At a special board meeting, Mayor Ernie Troiano declined to say whether Trump would be in town in person, or even say what organization planned the event, but the unanimously approved resolution cites Donald J. Trump for President 2024 Inc.
The vote came after a closed-door meeting of close to an hour, without public discussion. Troiano said he was “handcuffed” as to what he could say publicly Monday.
City officials said more information would be released Wednesday and directed further inquiries to the Trump campaign. There was no immediate response to an emailed request for comment.
The meeting came the same day Trump made history as the first American president in a criminal trial, as jury selection began in Manhattan in a felony case related to hush money payments to a porn actress.
In January 2020, before COVID-19 changed the world, Trump’s visit to the Wildwoods Convention Center on the Boardwalk drew thousands to the beach resort in the winter. This time, plans call for a warmer visit in May.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who changed parties in 2019 from Democrat to Republican while his former party sought to impeach Trump, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Van Drew is up for reelection this year and has been named as chairman of Trump’s New Jersey campaign.
As Upper Township readies for a primary fight for the Republican nomination for two seats on the Township Committee, there is another battle brewing over membership of the township’s Republican committee.
For Trump’s previous visit to Wildwood, supporters lined up in droves for hours in a chilly wind off the ocean while waiting for the doors to open at the Convention Center. Inside, Trump embraced Van Drew and brought Kellyanne Conway, a Camden County native, to the stage. She served as a senior counselor in the Trump administration.
“Mr. President, I think South Jersey is Trump Country,” she said.
When Trump last visited Wildwood, a rare visit to southern New Jersey by a sitting president, most businesses were closed for the winter and the seaside community would have been about as empty as it gets.
A May weekend is a far different story, with several events already planned in the community, including the Wildwoods Spring Fling festival, a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, a cheer competition and a hot rod and muscle car show.
This year’s presidential campaign is set to be different from any other in American history as Trump seeks to unseat Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden, whose 2020 win Trump did not accept. Trump has alleged problems with that vote, although courts rejected multiple challenges.
Manhattan prosecutors brought 34 felony counts against the president related to a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance charges in 2018 in connection to the payments during the 2016 campaign.
At issue in New York is not whether the payments took place, but rather whether they involved criminally falsifying business records.
Trump also faces criminal indictments related to allegations of election interference in Georgia, four federal charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection and 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified documents.
There also are multiple civil cases, including a $454 million civil penalty related to allegations he wrongly inflated his net worth. That judgment is under appeal.
GALLERY: Protesters at President Trump's Wildwood rally
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President Donald Trump speaks during a rally with U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, left, R-2nd, on Jan. 28, 2020, at the Wildwoods Convention Center.
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