Donald Trump will hold outdoor rally in New Hampshire despite Tulsa disaster - but this time campaign will hand out masks and 'strongly encourage' supporters to wear them
Donald Trump will hold his next reelection rally outside on Saturday and his campaign will give out hand sanitizer and face masks after his first post-coronavirus rally fell way short of expectations in the midst of the continuing pandemic.
The rally will be held in New Hampshire, a battleground state, at Portsmouth International Airport, the campaign announced Sunday night.
'There will be ample access to hand sanitizer and all attendees will be provided a face mask that they are strongly encouraged to wear,' the president's campaign assured.
'It's more a factor of precaution,' Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox & Friends when asked about the masks and hand sanitizer.
'We want to make sure that other people feel safe,' he assured, adding that by giving out the protective gear the campaign is allowing 'freedom to take place and certainly want to encourage that go forward.'
'We're a nation of freedoms,' Meadows continued Sunday morning. 'If masks are appropriate... it's all trying to make sure that we deal with this virus.'
Donald Trump will host his second post-coronavirus rally in New Hampshire on Saturday despite the flop in Tulsa last month (pictured). The rally will be held outdoors and the campaign claims: 'There will be ample access to hand sanitizer and all attendees will be provided a face mask that they are strongly encouraged to wear'
Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows assured that giving out masks is 'more a factor of precaution'
A poll last month revealed that nearly two-thirds of New Hampshire residents do not approve of the way Trump is handling the pandemic. Another survey released last month shows that presumed Democratic nominee Joe Biden is leading Trump in the Granite State with 49 per cent to the president's 42 per cent.
The campaign's National Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said in announcing the rally: '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.'
'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,' Gidley continued.
Trump held his first post-coronavirus rally on June 20 in Tulsa Oklahoma, a deep red state – and the event came after he was benched from the campaign trail for months in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The hyped-up event, however, did not receive the massive crowd the president and his campaign promised.
Ahead of the rally, Trump touted that around a million people had requested tickets. However, the Bank of Oklahoma Center has a capacity of 19,199 and somewhere between 6,000 and 6,500 people attended.
TikTok user and K-Pop fans took credit for the flop, claiming they flooded Trump's campaign with requests for tickets, making the president think there was a hire demand.
It is indisputable that the rally was underwhelming, even in a state where Trump won with 65.3 per cent of the vote – around 37 per cent more than Hillary Clinton walked away with.
Trump's rally in Tulsa, a deep red state, was majorly underwhelming after the president touted 1 million people request tickets, but the 19,199-seat arena was filled with only abut 6,200 attendees
It's uncertain if the New Hampshire rally will be more successful.
The Northeastern state went blue in 2016, but by only .3 per cent – with Trump earning 46.5 per cent of the vote to Clinton's 46.8 per cent.
Many claimed ahead of the rally that hosting it without any social distancing or mask requirements could cause a spike in coronavirus cases.
Eight campaign staffers who attended the Tulsa rally tested positive for COVID-19.
As of Monday morning, more than 2.8 million people in the U.S. have been infected with COVID-19 and nearly 130,000 people have died after contracting the virus.
In New Hampshire, according to the state's Department of Public Health, there have been over 5,800 confirmed coronavirus infections and more than 380 deaths.
Trump last visited New Hampshire February 10 – on the eve of the nation's first primary election – for a massive rally in Manchester.
