“With Trump trailing in national polls fewer than 90 days before the election and the coronavirus shutting down many schools and businesses through the fall, the future of the campaign rally is as uncertain as Trump’s odds for reelection” reports the Washington Post.
“‘I just got back from Texas, Ohio and Florida. We’ve got all law enforcement awards, everything. We got the endorsement from all of them,’ Trump told Hewitt. ‘But I just got back, and they’re the largest crowds on the highway I’ve ever seen.’ In June, Trump held a thinly attended campaign rally in Tulsa despite warnings from health officials about the increase in coronavirus cases in Oklahoma. A number of campaign staff members at the rally site tested positive and the president was livid that the news became public, according to people familiar with his reaction, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal discussions. Although Trump did not say so, the empty-seats problem is also partly a function of reluctance on the part of some his supporters to expose themselves to potential infection. A planned July rally in New Hampshire was scrapped out of what the Trump campaign said was caution over an approaching storm, although forecasts suggested there was little risk. The day dawned sunny and warm, and the state Democratic Party said the weather amounted to a spurious cover story.”