Nate Rau, and Joey Garrison

The Tennessean

President Donald Trump plans to hold a Nashville rally on Wednesday at downtown's Municipal Auditorium, making his first visit to Tennessee as president just weeks after entering the White House.

The event is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m., with doors to open at 3:30 p.m.

An invitation for the Trump rally is posted on Trump's campaign website, but the purpose of the gathering is still unclear. The White House has not responded to inquiries about the event.

Trump has spoken at several rallies in recent weeks, and Nashville is a natural fit in the wake of the president's promise of a "full-court press" on behalf of Republican-backed legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. The debate surrounding the health care bill is reaching a fever-pitch and Nashville is one of the nation's health care hubs, boasting a near-$40 billion industry.

Trump's arrival Wednesday would also fall on the same day The Hermitage, the historic home of former President Andrew Jackson, is celebrating the 250th birthday of the nation's seventh president, whose populist politics have resonated with Trump. Upon moving into the White House last month, the new president hung a portrait of Jackson in the Oval Office.

Related: What to expect from Trump's Nashville visit: Traffic, protests and more

During his Nashville visit, Trump is expected to tour Jackson's home, but The Hermitage on Thursday could neither confirm nor deny the scheduling.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked twice about the Nashville event at a Thursday briefing with media but declined to discuss details, instead directing questions to to the campaign.

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden welcomed Trump's decision to return to a state that overwhelmingly voted to send the brash businessman to the White House.

"In November, Tennesseans decidedly aligned with his America First agenda giving him a 26-point margin of victory," Golden said in a statement. "That agenda is off to a great start with the American private sector adding over half a million new jobs in the first two months of 2017.

In a statement, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry's office said they have not received any guidance or details from the White House about the president’s visit. They said Metro will work with the White House and Secret Service to ensure Trump's visit is safe and any the impact on traffic and government accessibility is minimal.

“Nashville is a warm and welcoming city for all, and that certainly includes President Trump and his supporters who will be attending this event,” Barry said.

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Barry, a Democrat, used a similar phrase after Trump was elected in November to try to assuage concerns of immigrants and others. Barry said then that she's committed to “keeping our a community a warm and welcoming place” to immigrants and others amid what she called a feeling of uncertainty and fear following Trump's victory.

A spokesman for Barry declined to say when asked whether Barry would attend next week's event or greet the president when arrives.

“I hope that during President Trump’s visit to Nashville, he has an opportunity to experience our diverse culture and welcoming values that make our city and our economy so successful," Barry said in her statement Thursday. "If we have the chance to meet, I would love to follow up on our previous phone conversation about Nashville’s desire to be included in the President’s plan for improving infrastructure across the nation.”

Barry was referring to a brief conversation she had with Trump by phone in January during a Martin Luther King event in Nashville. She was sitting next to former U.N. ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, who handed the phone to Barry after receiving a surprise call from Trump.

It is unclear how many other elected officials will attend.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, said the senator plans to be at the event.

Asked whether U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, was informed about the event in his district in advance or whether he will be attending, his spokesman Chris Carroll said the answer to both questions is "no."

Former President Barack Obama visited Nashville three times during his two terms in office. During those stops, he was greeted at the airport by then-Mayor Karl Dean and Cooper, both Democrats, but not Gov. Bill Haslam. The Republican governor, however, did appear with the president in 2015 in Knoxville when Obama touted Haslam's Tennessee Promise education plan and he met with Obama in Memphis.

Haslam said when Obama came to Shelby and Knoxville he had a chance to visit with him and he would look to do the same with Trump.

“I would assume that same thing will happen here,” he said.

Meanwhile, plans to protest Trump's visit are already underway.

Soon after The Tennessean reported the president’s Nashville stop, a Facebook event organizing a demonstration against Trump popped up.

"Many grassroots organizations and advocates such as myself are protesting Donald Trumps visit to Nashville. We are protesting to be heard," local organizer Caleb Banks said in a statement.

Two separate Facebook events have already garnered over 1,000 responses from Tennesseans planning on demonstrating inside and outside the arena. Organizers are urging protesters to register for tickets through Trump's campaign website, but not use them in hopes of leaving the seats empty.

One of the planned demonstrations is organized by "We are Watching-Tennessee," an organization that has planned protests at the Tennessee General Assembly this past session calling for government accountability.

"This is Nashville's chance to show the entire nation that we stand against the Trump agenda. The Trump presidency is #NotNormal and we will fight it every step of the way," according to the group's Facebook page.

Staff writers Michael Collins, Joel Ebert, Dave Boucher, Kirk A. Bado and Holly Meyer contributed to this report.

Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and nrau@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tnnaterau.