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.
The so-called Trump Leadership Council — a group of 40 CEOs and top executives with wallets friendly to the Trump campaign — flew into Cleveland to attend the Republican National Convention, with the expectation of meeting with Donald Trump himself Tuesday morning. It turns out they were in for a rude surprise:
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]
Trump has struggled to get even close to Hillary Clinton's fundraising numbers, although his campaign claims the billionaire is capable of self-funding. He better be — after all, he may have just sent a message loud and clear to his donors. Read the entire scoop at Time.