Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump will not come to Rhode Island this week and he might not come at all before the state’s April 26 primary, the state’s honorary Trump campaign chairman said Wednesday.

“At this point, it’s not happening this week; it could be dead totally,” said Rep. Joseph A. Trillo, R-Warwick. “I’m still holding out some hope. I want to leave the door open, but I don’t think it’s open at all.”

Trillo noted that there have been protests at Trump events in other states, and he said local college students were planning to protest if Trump came to Rhode Island. “They are concerned about the security,” Trillo said, and “I think it’s also probably a cost factor. It would be very expensive to hire that much police protection, and it may not be worth it.”

"It wasn't canceled because of any threats of protests, it's just that they were never able to put it together for this week," Trillo said.

Campaign officials were looking at bringing Trump to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center or the nearby Rhode Island Convention Center, and they expected a crowd of 5,000 to 7,000 people, Trillo said. Earlier in the week, he had said there was a “very strong chance” that Trump would come here on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Trillo said he is “very disappointed” Trump won’t visit here this week. “We have a lot of support for him in this state, and I think we would have had a great turnout,” he said. He speculated Trump might visit neighboring Connecticut, which also holds a primary on April 26, but he said he knows of no definite plans.

Meanwhile former President Bill Clinton will campaign for Hillary Clinton at the Community College of Rhode Island, in Warwick, at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. The event is free and open to the public; doors open at 11:30 a.m.

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