President Trump’s reelection campaign will provide attendees with face masks, which they will be “strongly encouraged” to use, at his next rally.
The president’s team sent an email to supporters on Sunday announcing that its next rally will take place outdoors in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, at the Portsmouth International Airport on Saturday, July 11. The campaign noted that “there will be ample access to hand sanitizer and all attendees will be provided a face mask that they are strongly encouraged to wear.”
“President Trump’s record-setting accomplishments in record-setting time have improved the lives of all Americans. He rebuilt, restored and renewed our great nation once, and he’ll do it again,” Hogan Gidley, Trump 2020 national press secretary, said in a statement. “We look forward to so many freedom-loving patriots coming to the rally and celebrating America, the greatest country in the history of the world.”
Trump held his first rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last month after putting a hold on such events during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Both face masks and hand sanitizer were provided to attendees of the event. However, the president recommended that people “do what they want” in terms of using the masks.
Several Trump campaign staffers tested positive for the coronavirus before and after the event. Dozens of members of the Secret Service who worked the rally reportedly had to quarantine following it, and at least one is believed to have contracted the virus.
The president also attended an event on Friday to celebrate Independence Day at Mount Rushmore, where attendees were not encouraged to social distance or wear masks.
After seeing a drop-off, COVID-19 cases have been spiking recently in several southern states — including Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California — leading to renewed concern about mitigating the spread. The United States has so far recorded more than 2.8 million cases of the coronavirus and over 129,000 related deaths.
