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Following two months of sagging polls and political defeats, the Trump campaign is heading to New Hampshire for what could be a decisive moment in the 2020 election cycle.
President Donald Trump faces an uphill battle to reelection, according to recent polls. His likely opponent, former vice president Joe Biden, looms some eleven points over him in approval ratings. Saturday’s rally has been criticized by some doctors for posing a public health risk.
Dan Eberheart, a republican fund-raiser and energy executive, was rather blunt about the Trump campaign’s prospects in New Hampshire. “This rally is really a make-or-break moment for Trump. This needs to be a success to prove out the strategy that in this kind of COVID environment, these kinds of rallies still have legs, still have purpose and that this type of campaigning can continue.”
The New Hampshire rally will be held in an airport hangar, allowing plenty of room for supporters to spread out. However, some pundits are predicting a turnout similar to Trump’s disastrous Tulsa rally on June 20. That rally had a very low turnout, a low-energy crowd and very negative media coverage. Critics noted that the president holding an in-person rally in the middle of a pandemic was emblematic of the Trump administration’s disregard for the current crisis.
New Hampshire comes as many states have pumped the breaks on their reopening. From bars to addiction rehab centers, many businesses have had to once again close their doors. The surging case numbers have actually blown past their previous high marks in April, putting the US in uncharted waters with COVID. Trump’s campaign is hoping this rally can be a shot in the arm to reinvigorate the flagging poll numbers.
Trump’s campaign is still questioning what happened in Tulsa. Despite receiving requests for one million tickets to the event, only 6,200 people actually showed up. Scenes of the campaign staff tearing down an unused outdoor overflow stage spoke to the distance between expectation and reality. The arena, which can hold 19,000, was well under capacity.
Further, many have pointed to Tulsa’s surge of COVID-19 cases in recent days as stemming from that rally. Eight members of Trump’s campaign and two Secret Service agents tested positive for COVID after working the Tulsa rally. Doctors fear that the New Hampshire rally, likewise, could spark another burst of cases in the region.
