President Donald Trump is hosting a rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, tonight. It is his first rally since the rally last month in Greenville, North Carolina, where a number of people in the crowd began shouting “Send her back!” while he was speaking about Ilhan Abdullahi Omar. Will Trump address the same issue again tonight? Or will he focus more on talking about the Democratic debates and contrasting them to Republican platforms? The Democratic debates’ latest round just concluded yesterday evening. You can watch the rally live in the embedded video above from Fox 10 Phoenix to find out. This is a stop for his 2020 Presidential Election campaign.
Tonight’s rally in Cincinnati will be held at the U.S. Bank Arena at 100 Broadway Street. The rally will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Central.) You can register to attend in person here but seats are still given on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open at 4 p.m. Mike Pence will be speaking today too, along with Trump.
(See crowd photos here.)
An alternative channel for viewing a live stream is below.
The US Bank Arena in Cincinnati has a crowd size capacity of 17,556 for concert seating, 17,000 for basketball seating, and 14,453 for arena football or ice hockey. It was renovated in 1997. Ray Harris, part-owner of the Arena, told WCPO in 2017 that they would like to tear down the arena and build a new one before the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball championship. This time instead of a 17,000 capacity, they’d like a 19,000 capacity.
Thousands are already lined up hours early for the rally. Some showed up as early as 6 or 7 a.m., Cincinnati.com reported.
Thousands already for Trump rally that begins at 7 in Cincinnati
The line was wrapped around the ballpark to get into the Arena, hours before the rally started.
Expect traffic in the area to be heavy due to the rally and a sold-out concert.
Trump rally and a sold out concert at Riverbend, traffic is starting to pick up! J.H. Rose Cincinnati is encouraging employees to leave early and avoid the traffic. RT if your office is shutting down early for the events today!
If you’re going to the Arena for Trump’s rally, take a look at the rules and prohibited items here. Prohibited items include (but aren’t limited to) aerosol cans, alcohol, audio/video recording equipment (but small, non-professional still cameras less than 3 1/2 inches in length are allowed), beverage containers, studded bracelets, coolers or ice chests, knives, large bags or purses, laser pens, noisemaking devices, outside food or drinks, professional photography equipment, tripods, unapproved pamphlets, or weapons of any kind. All guests are subject to a bag search and security check. Guests are also not allowed to wear clothing with profanity or offensive material in the Arena.
Protesters are planning to be at the rally, too. They will be on both sides of the U.S. Bank Arean and plan to start their protests at 5 p.m., a couple hours before the rally begins, WLWT reported. One group is meeting at Broadway and Pete Rose Way in front of the arena, and then they will hold their protest at Public Plaza.
One of the protests is by We Stand Together, CityBeat reported. The protest is meant to be peaceful and focus on raising awareness of diversity-related issues. We Stand Together says on Facebook about their protest: “Join us for a peaceful protest and a celebration of our American values on Thursday, August 1. Come gather together with a diverse and inclusive community to stand up for ending the humanitarian crisis on the southern border and supporting women, LGBTQ, labor, people of color, and all those marginalized by this administration. Stand up with us and help spread the word. #WeStandUp.” They are meeting at the Freedom Center on 50 Freedom Way at 6 p.m.
Trump is expected to talk about the economy during tonight’s rally. His 2020 campaign slogan is “Keep America Great.” This new slogan is a slight transition from his 2016 slogan which was “Make America Great Again.”