Donald Trump left Cleveland without telling anyone — and stood up a bunch of important donors

Donald Trump unexpectedly flew to New York last night.

(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 20 July 2016

Update July 20, 2016: After this article was published, Time retracted and corrected large portions of their original report. Here is their full correction: "The original version of this story mischaracterized the event, which was a meeting of corporate advisors. After the story was published, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign and an organizer of the group told Time that the candidate was never scheduled to attend the meeting. The Trump Leadership Council explicitly states in internal documents for its members that there is no expectation that they make political donations to Trump or the convention. The story also incorrectly described the attendees of the event and the championship record of the Cleveland Browns."

Our original article is below.

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The group of 40 from companies such as Continental Resources, BNSF Railway, and C Spire mingled with Republican members of Congress around breakfast tables set up on one of [FirstEnergy Stadium's] concourses. The Republican representatives addressed the group, ostensibly stalling for Trump. [...] Eventually, though, the speeches ran out and Trump never showed. He had, they found out later, unexpectedly flown back to New York overnight with no word on when he might return. The group was led out to the football field, where NFL team the Cleveland Browns play, to take pictures before they were let go with no information about when and if a third meeting might take place. [Time]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.