Texas Gov. Abbott cancels in-person appearance at NRA convention, will visit Uvalde instead

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has canceled his plan to attend the National Rifle Association's annual meeting this weekend and will instead appear via video and spend time in Uvalde, Texas, following a school shooting there that left 21 dead.

"Gov. Abbott will be delivering remarks via pre-recorded video to the NRA Conference," Abbott campaign spokesman Mark Miner said in a statement on Friday. "He will be going to Uvalde today."

Abbott had been slated to attend the convention in Houston where several prominent Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz and former President Donald Trump, are scheduled to speak.

Several high-profile figures, including singers Larry Gatlin and Don McLean, have canceled their appearances at the NRA conference after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday and shot 19 children along with two faculty members. 

A mourner writes a message on memorial for a victim of Tuesday's mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, May 26, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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Trump said Wednesday that he intends to keep his commitment to attending the event.

"America needs real solutions and real leadership in this moment, not politicians and partisanship," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. "That's why I will keep my longtime commitment to speak in Texas at the NRA Convention and deliver an important address to America. In the meantime, we all continue to pray for the victims, their families, and four our entire nation – we are all in this together."

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Republican Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the Uvalde school shooting. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Gun manufacturer Daniel Defense, who made the rifle that was used by Ramos to carry out the attack, announced Thursday it has canceled plans to promote products at the event.

"Daniel Defense is not attending the National Rifle Association (‘NRA’) meeting due to the horrifying tragedy in Uvalde, Texas where one of our products was criminally misused," Steve Reed, vice president of marketing for Daniel Defense, told Fox News Digital in a statement Thursday. "We believe this week is not the appropriate time to be promoting our products in Texas at the NRA meeting."

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

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The NRA anticipates tens of thousands of people will attend the annual meeting. It is the first mass gathering of NRA members in three years following a hiatus during the pandemic, and follows decades of holding the annual event. 

"The NRA is very excited to host this pro-freedom lineup of nationally renowned political leaders in Houston, Texas – and just one year after Texas passed landmark constitutional carry legislation. This will be a celebration of freedom and the Second Amendment in a state that truly respects our constitutional rights," Jason Ouimet, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, told Fox News Digital in early May.

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report