Vice President JD Vance will no longer be traveling to Minnesota to hold a press conference on fraud later Friday.
The decision came after President Donald Trump canceled his now-rescheduled rallies in Iowa and Kansas, which were initially scheduled for this weekend. The president explained the schedule change by saying he can have a broader reach with tele-rallies. It is unclear why the vice president canceled his in-person appearance.
Vance, who leads the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, was supposed to make an announcement on the administration’s investigation into fraud in Minnesota. The press conference is still happening as planned in St. Cloud, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent taking the lead, though Vance will not be in attendance anymore.
Bessent will announce a development in the administration’s “war on fraud,” alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson. The event is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. local time.
The White House last held a fraud-related announcement in the Oval Office this month, revealing a fraud whistleblower incentive program that allows the federal government to award tipsters with information on specific cases of fraud.
At the Oct. 20 event, Trump rewarded conservative influencer Nick Shirley with a $10,000 check for his viral work highlighting alleged fraud in Minnesota welfare programs.
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When asked whether he initially canceled his now-rescheduled trip to Kansas because he was tired of traveling across the nation in the final stretch before Election Day, Trump snapped at the Reuters reporter who posed the question on Thursday. After mocking the reporter’s weight and calling him a “sick guy,” Trump said he doesn’t “feel I have to go to Kansas.”
Trump will host a Friday evening rally in Daytona Beach, Florida, to campaign for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who’s running for governor. The election is four days away.