Donald Trump’s Campaign Is Struggling With Lack Of Rallies Amid Pandemic, Report Says
In the wake of the cancellation of a forthcoming Portsmouth, New Hampshire, rally, Donald Trump’s campaign is struggling to adapt to a new political landscape that doesn’t offer the president the optics that he desires, Politico reported.
One person involved in Trump’s re-election claimed that the coronavirus pandemic is a significant roadblock in the campaign’s goals to defeat Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden in this year’s election.
“President Trump was a machine in 2016 and he wants to be that same candidate this cycle. Unfortunately, coronavirus has interfered with our plans to contrast his tremendous stamina with Sleepy Joe’s.”
According to the report, the Trump campaign’s challenge in scheduling campaign rallies has also raised questions over whether down-ballot Republicans will continue to benefit from the president’s vote draw in their absence.
According to Politico, two people close to the Trump campaign said a significant issue is finding areas with local and state officials who are open to hosting such a large-scale event and unlikely to blame the president for a subsequent COVID-19 outbreak.
The report also claimed that the low turnout in Tulsa, Oklahoma, struck fear into campaign staffers, who have allegedly been struggling to ensure Trump is put back in front of the audiences that fuel his campaigns. As reported by NBC News, the president was reportedly “furious” at the low turnout in Tulsa.
Despite reports that the New Hampshire campaign rally was postponed due to fear of embarrassment, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign claimed it was solely rooted in the weather forecast. In addition, Erin Perrine, director of press communications for the campaign, suggested that the team is continuing to engage with supporters both in person and digitally — despite the setbacks of the pandemic.
“Just this week, we hit over 1 billion video views since April across all our social media platforms. Last week, President Trump hosted a roundtable in Miami, Vice President Pence had a hugely successful bus tour in Pennsylvania and Women for Trump just finished up a bus tour in Wisconsin.”
As reported by The Center Square, the new date for Trump’s postponed New Hampshire rally is still undecided. According to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, the rally will be delayed by one to two weeks.
New Hampshire is one of several states that Trump lost in his 2016 battle against Hillary Clinton. Nevertheless, he placed first in the state’s 2016 primary and only narrowly lost the state to Clinton in the general election. According to Politico, Trump’s performance in the state revealed the “surprising strength” of his populism among its residents.
