PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — President Donald Trump returns to New England just days before Maine's July primary election.
President Trump will hold an outdoor rally at the Portsmouth International Airport, Saturday, July 11, at 8 p.m.
In a release, Hogan Gidley, Trump's campaign press Secretary, said attendees would be provided with face masks that they would be "strongly encouraged" to wear.
Gidley, who said there would be "ample access" to hand sanitizer at the rally, added: "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."
The New Hampshire Democratic Party slammed Trump for his response to the pandemic, saying, "Instead of helping our state safely recover, Trump, is flying in for a political rally that will only further highlight the chaos he has caused."
The New Hampshire rally comes on the heels of two Trump events that have caused much discussion on both sides of the political aisle.
The speech and fireworks event at Mount Rushmore came against the backdrop of a pandemic that has killed over 125,000 Americans. According to the Associated Press, the president flew across the nation to gather a big crowd of supporters, most of them maskless and all of them flouting public health guidelines that recommend not gathering in large groups.
At the Tulsa rally in June, President Trump unleashed months of pent-up grievances about the coronavirus, which he dubbed the "Kung flu," a racist term for COVID-19 that originated from China. He also tried to defend his handling of the pandemic, even as cases continue to surge in many states, including Oklahoma.
He complained that robust coronavirus testing was making his record look bad — and suggested the testing effort should slow down.
"Here's the bad part. When you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more cases," Trump said. "So I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down.' They test, and they test."
In the hours before the Tulsa rally, crowds were significantly lighter than expected, and campaign officials scrapped plans for Trump to address an overflow space outdoors. When Trump thundered that "the silent majority is stronger than ever before," about a third of the seats at his indoor rally were empty.
Just hours before that rally, Trump's campaign revealed that six staff members who helped set up for the event had tested positive for the coronavirus. Campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said that "quarantine procedures were immediately implemented," and that neither the affected staffers nor anyone who was in immediate contact with them would attend the event.
Since then, Kimberly Guilfoyle, girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. and a top Trump campaign official, has tested positive for COVID-19.
Guilfoyle tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus while in South Dakota. It happened ahead of the July Fourth event held Friday at Mount Rushmore and attended by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
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