Donald Trump Holds First Indoor Only Rally In About Three Months
The coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses across the United States and made it near impossible for Donald Trump to hold in-person campaign rallies ahead of Election Day. Much to his relief, the president spoke to a considerable number of supporters on Sunday for the first time in nearly three months.
As expected, Trump targeted Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, raising questions about his voting records, and mental acuity, while repeating his campaign message about law and order. The theme of this rally was similar to his earlier speech in Minden, Nevada.
The recently held rally in Henderson, Nevada took place inside a facility of Xtreme Manufacturing and violated the state's restriction on gatherings of fifty or more people. It is slated to follow a myriad of outdoor events after Trump's indoor Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally earlier this year saw underwhelming attendance, CNN reported.
The indoor event comes when the US neared 200,000 deaths due to coronavirus, and a troubled week for the president as his campaign handle the fall out of his COVID-19 response. Trump uses his rallies as a platform to connect with his supporters in a way that he can't when he is in Washington, DC, and attributed bad poll numbers to his campaign trail absence.
Trump's last indoor-only rally held in Tulsa met with strong criticism after the city saw a surge in coronavirus cases about 2 weeks after the event. On top of that, several campaign staffers and Secret Service agents tested positive for the virus too.
The rally was attended by less than 6,200 people, ruining Trump's return to the campaign trail. The low attendance was attributed to the backlash from the radical protesters and the media about having such a large crowd come under one roof amid a still raging pandemic.
The City of Henderson warned Xtreme Manufacturing about violating the state regulations if the rally went ahead. The city issued a verbal warning, as well as a compliance letter to the event organizer, noting that the planned event would directly violate the governor's COVID-19 emergency directives.
It stated that gathering of more than 50 people in a private or public setting is prohibited, City of Henderson spokeswoman Kathleen Richards told in a statement to CNN. It is imperative for large live events to get the approval of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, Division of Industrial Relations and the City hasn't been informed that the event has been approved, Richards explained.
She went on to explain that the City may assess a $500 fine per violation of the governor's directives and suspend or revoke the business license. Trump supporters attending the event on Sunday claimed they didn't have health concerns.