Preparations underway for Trump event at Alaska Airlines Center

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Preparations were in full swing Friday afternoon for former President Donald Trump’s rally in Anchorage at the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday.

Event organizers would not disclose how many tickets have been reserved from the 5,000-seat arena, but the former president told Mike Pocaro, an Anchorage-based talk radio host, that the crowd is expected to be “enormous.”

Republicans Kelly Tshibaka, a candidate for U.S. Senate, and former Gov. Sarah Palin, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, are set to speak ahead of Trump, starting at 1 p.m. Trump is set to address the crowd at 4 p.m.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has received a conditional endorsement from Trump, but he is said to be traveling on Saturday and not planning on attending the rally. The former president pledged to come to Alaska over two years ago to campaign against Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Her campaign has declined to comment on Trump’s Anchorage rally.

Outside in the parking lot, Mark Daigle and his wife Susan were the first in line at 1:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon, traveling to the University of Alaska Anchorage campus from Soldotna. They are celebrating their 28th wedding anniversary and were excited to see Trump in person after waiting years for the opportunity.

Daigle said, while laughing, that it was one of the most exciting moments of his life after his children were born. The couple were planning to camp outside the Alaska Airlines Center overnight to get their tickets early on Saturday. They brought extra food and drinks to share with others camping.

At the Delaney Park Strip, a rally is set to be held on Saturday afternoon in support of abortion access after Roe v. Wade was overturned in late June. Trump appointed three of the five U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned the landmark 1973 decision.

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