Trump to speak at private event in The Villages on Tuesday

Aug. 2--President Trump is set to appear Tuesday at an invitation-only event at the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center in The Villages, the White House confirmed.

A White House official said Friday the visit to the 1,000-seat theater, in the Lake County part of the massive retirement community, is not a campaign event. It will be focused on Medicare, the government health insurance program for seniors. The event is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

It comes less than two months after Trump kicked off his reelection campaign at the Amway Center in Orlando.

The Villages, a sprawling community in Lake, Marion and Sumter counties, is prime Trump territory, with Sumter providing the president with 68% of the countywide vote in 2016, helping Trump win the state over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

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Trump to speak at private event in The Villages on Tuesday

2:29 PM

This will be Trump's first journey to The Villages as a candidate or president.

The Villages Daily Sun reported several local officials and political leaders have received invitations from the White House.

But even they hadn't been told as whether they would be cleared to attend, Sumter County GOP chairman John Temple told the Daily Sun. "At this point in time, there aren't tickets that I have to give out."

slemongello@orlandosentinel.com

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