Donald Trump to hold rally in Norcross today

Businessman plans rally in Norcross; doctor makes 2 stops.

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump makes the first Georgia stop of his presidential campaign today with a rally in Norcross.

The Republican front-runner in the polls will hold an event at noon at the North Atlanta Trade Center. Free tickets can be obtained online for a candidate who has drawn some of the largest crowds of the presidential campaign cycle.

Fellow Republican presidential contender Ben Carson will also be in the area on his book tour. The neurosurgeon and first-time candidate is scheduled to sign books Saturday evening in at the Books-a-Million in Lawrenceville and Sunday morning at Free Chapel in Gainesville.

Carson, the mild-mannered counter to Trump’s bombast, has lately climbed into second place in many polls.

In addition to Trump’s rally, he will be meeting privately with a large group of pastors, said Seth Weathers, a political consultant leading Trump’s campaign in Georgia.

Weathers said he expects a crowd of thousands to see the real estate mogul. Trump’s brash and nontraditional style has helped him dominate polls and media coverage of the Republican campaign.

“The response has been overwhelming to say the least, the amount of people who have been reaching out to us wanting to get involved, wanting to volunteer, get yard signs, get bumper stickers, has been unlike anything I’ve ever seen in any candidate — statewide or national — in my lifetime,” Weathers said.

Herman Cain — a host on News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and a businessman outsider presidential candidate at this point four years ago — will speak at the Norcross event, and country music artist Bill Gentry will perform.

Cain has said he could support a handful of the Republican presidential hopefuls.

Trump was supposed to ap-

pear in Atlanta at the RedState Gathering in August along with several presidential candidates. But he was disinvited at the last minute by host Erick Erickson after attacking Fox News host Megyn Kelly for her tough questions during the first presidential debate. Trump and Erickson sparred again over Twitter this week in the lead-up to his visit.

Trump’s appearanc- es typically draw protests from Latinos, given his statement that many immigrants coming illegally from Mexico are “rapists” and his plans for mass deportation. Democrats have been highlighting Trump’s positions and statements and using them to tar the entire GOP presidential field.

“They all oppose raising the minimum wage, want to repeal Obamacare, deliver the same offensive message of Hispanic exclusion, revel in scoring cheap political points by attacking women, and are more concerned with benefiting the wealthiest 1 percent than building the middle class,” Georgia Democratic Party spokesman Michael Smith said. “It’s the same thing we’ve come to expect from the GOP over the years — the message hasn’t changed. The only difference this time around is that their frontrunner is essentially Gary Busey with a trust fund.”