I’m going to guess, yes.
Trump is so excited he can hardly contain himself:
Donald Trump is planning to restart rallies in the next two weeks in a major turning point for the president since the coronavirus shut down traditional campaigning.
Trump’s advisers are still determining where the rallies will take place and what safety measures will be implemented, depending on the type of venue chosen. Campaign manager Brad Parscale is expected to present Trump with possibilities within the next few days.
The president has been itching to resume his boisterous rallies, his favorite way to connect with supporters and let off steam. He’s planning to use the events to drive home what is expected to be a major theme of his campaign: that he is the leader of the country’s reopening and economic rebound. Trump held a hastily-called press conference Friday to celebrate an unexpectedly strong jobs report, and his campaign immediately began running a massive ad campaign seizing on the news.
“Americans are ready to get back to action and so is President Trump. The great American comeback is real and the rallies will be tremendous,” Parscale said in a statement. “You’ll again see the kind of crowds and enthusiasm that sleepy Joe Biden can only dream of.”
The move comes at a precarious moment for Trump. National and swing state polls show him taking a major hit amid his handling of the pandemic and the social unrest that followed the killing of a African American man at the hands of Minnesota police. He is trailing Joe Biden substantially in many polls.
The president’s team views the rallies as a way of rejuvenating his base and displaying the enthusiasm behind his reelection bid. They are eager to create a contrast with Biden, who has largely remained secluded in his Delaware home and hasn’t held a major campaign event since spring.
While Trump is likely to face blowback for resuming in-person events while the coronavirus pandemic is still ravaging the country, his advisers contend that the recent massive protests in metropolitan areas will make it harder for liberals to criticize him.
Trump hasn’t held a rally since March, though in recent weeks he has used ostensibly official events to visit swing states. He is gradually returning to normal political life, with a pair of in-person fundraisers scheduled for this month. He will headline an event Thursday at a private home in Dallas.
Trump journalist Byron York is all for it:
The last I heard, wearing a mask was for losers so I don’t think handing them out is going to go over all that well. So, even if they’re outdoors, they’ll be huddled close together (Trump won’t stand for social distancing at his rally) for hours.
A majority — 63 percent — say they always wear a mask when shopping, going to work or interacting with other people in public. Another 21 percent say they sometimes wear a mask. Seven percent say they wear a mask “rarely” and just eight percent say they never wear one.
But despite generally widespread mask-wearing, Republicans are more likely t
o follow Trump’s lead by expressing reluctance to donning protective masks.
Among the 15 percent of adults who say they rarely or never wear a mask, 83 percent plan to support Trump over Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential contest.
I’m going to guess that it’s that 15% who attend MAGA rallies. They tend to be middle-aged or older. And from the looks of it, they aren’t in particularly great health. They are the exact opposite of the young, healthy protesters. So, good luck to them!
Rallies and tweeting are literally the only things he knows how to do as president. And I’m not exaggerating. That is what he believes the job of the president is — keeping his base happy with propaganda.
Let him do it. I have a sneaking suspicion they aren’t going to be quite as “magical” as he thinks they ar e. In recent months, hte more people see of him, the less they like him.
