JANESVILLE, Wis. – A last-minute campaign rally bringing President Donald Trump to Janesville Saturday is being met with both excitement and calls for cancellation amidst rising coronavirus cases in Wisconsin, including in Rock County.
The announcement came Thursday afternoon following news that the Trump campaign cancelled its La Crosse rally planned for Saturday. La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat had expressed concerns about a large gathering’s potential impact on coronavirus spread.
Those concerns extend beyond La Crosse. Roger Polack, democratic challenger to Representative Bryan Steil of the 1st Congressional District encompassing the Janesville area, said he’s concerned about the number of people the rally will draw to the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport.
“Now is not the time for a large-scale hoo-rah-rah event,” Polack said. “It could very well be a super-spreader event that we’ve seen in the past. I would urge everyone to take caution and urge Donald Trump to stop doing these large events that put people needlessly at risk.”
“Take a look at how many votes came out for Trump in 2016 (in Rock County). I think you want to make sure you get all those votes again,” Rock County GOP chairperson Jay Mielke said. “Wisconsin’s a very critical state. If you’re going to win the state, you have to go everywhere, get every vote you can.”
Mielke said he’s excited for the event. He’ll be attending with a mask on his face and social distancing on his mind, and he encourages others to take similar precautions.
“If you feel like maybe you’re not in the higher risk groups and you really want to get out and see the President, do so, do so in a responsible way,” he said. “Do what you feel is right for yourself.”
Rock County officials said they’re concerned about virus spread beyond the rally.
“What we don’t want is for folks to contract the virus, but then also to spread the virus to others and cause more of an issue with rising COVID numbers,” Rock County Board of Supervisors Chair Kara Purviance said. “It’s not looking good here in Wisconsin now.”
Purviance said the county doesn’t have much sway over the rally being held at the airport. If the board’s calls for cancellation aren’t met, she urged those who attend to take proper precautions.
“From the county, at this time, we wouldn’t want to have any mass gathering of this kind, so regardless of which candidate would want to hold the rally, we’re just really trying to enforce safe public precautions,” she said. “Going into the news of the rally does make us a little concerned, because we’re trying to do these things and we feel like a rally would be counterproductive at this point.”
According to a Trump campaign event page, the president will deliver remarks at the airport at 3:30 p.m. Doors are expected open at 12:30 p.m.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump are awaiting results of coronavirus tests taken Thursday evening following the news that top White House aide Hope Hicks had tested positive.
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