President Obama Postpones Florida Trip Due to Hurricane Matthew

MIAMI, FL — Floridians who had plans to attend President Barack Obama’s rally in Miami on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Wednesday will have to wait. It seems Hurricane Matthew has blown a hole in the schedule.

The Clinton campaign announced Tuesday that Obama’s rally in Miami Gardens has been postponed due to the storm. Obama was set to appear at Florida Memorial University’s athletic arena at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 5. Just how soon the rally might be rescheduled remains unclear.

Obama intended to talk to Sunshine State residents about the importance of checking their registration status prior to the Oct. 11 cutoff date. He also intended to “lay out the high stakes of November's election for Florida families and highlight Clinton's vision for an America that is stronger together, with an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top,” according to Clinton’s campaign.

Clinton is up in the polls following the first presidential debate, but the gap remains narrow between her and Republican challenger Donald Trump. Real Clear Politics gave Clinton a 3.8 percentage point lead over Trump nationally as of Tuesday.

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Hurricane Matthew remained a solid Category 4 storm as of Tuesday morning after making landfall in Haiti. Matthew was packing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph as of the 11 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center on Oct. 4. The system was moving north at 10 mph on a path that’s projected to turn toward the northwest at some point on Wednesday.

The projected northwestward turn could put the storm on a collision course with South Florida by sometime on Thursday. Hurricane watches have been issued for the area from Deerfield Beach to the Volusia/Brevard county line. Tropical storm watches are also in effect from the Seven Mile Bridge area in the Florida Keys north to just south of Deerfield Beach. Watches mean that conditions are possible in the designated area, generally within 48 hours.

For more information about the Clinton campaign schedule, visit the candidate’s website.

Photo via WhiteHouse.gov