The Trump campaign blamed their canceled New Hampshire rally on the weather, but the truth is they canceled due to low attendance.
There were no signs of the typical throngs of supporters camped out days in advance for a good spot; the Republican governor said he would skip it, advising anyone at high risk to stay home over coronavirus concerns; fears of a repeat of Tulsa’s disappointing turnout weighed heavily; and then came the stormy weather reports, which could have further stifled attendance.
By the time the campaign announced that the Portsmouth event was off, citing “safety concerns†over a tropical storm barreling toward the Northeast on Friday afternoon, people close to the campaign said fears over low turnout also motivated the decision to scrap the event.
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The Trump campaign is already signaling that they are going to cancel Trump’s Republican nomination acceptance speech in Jacksonville because they are afraid of being humiliated again.
With coronavirus cases surging around the country, it is obvious people, even Trump supporters, don’t want to go to large gatherings where they could potentially get sick, and given Trump’s support skews older, the risk is even higher for his supporters.
The entire Trump campaign is built on holding rallies to harvest voter data that they can use to get out their vote in November.
Without rallies, Trump has no effective mechanism for campaigning. His campaign’s early efforts at ads have been laughably bad and out of touch with the country. Trump is terrible at giving speeches, and if possible, even worse at press conferences.
The message is crushing. Trump’s supporters aren’t willing to die to hear him boost his ego at a rambling rally.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
