On Monday, October 19, President Donald Trump hosted thousands of supporters at two rallies for his 2020 presidential campaign. He held the rallies in Tucson and Prescott, Arizona. Read on to learn more about the events and see crowd size photos from both Prescott and Tucson.
Thousands Attended the Rally in Prescott, Arizona
His first event was a rally in Prescott, Arizona, at Prescott Regional Airport. Thousands attended the event. From the photos and local media reports, there was no social distancing in the venue itself and few wore masks.
However, attendees’ temperatures were taken before they were allowed inside.
Trump spoke for about 70 minutes at the first rally, and talked about the heat and the sun beating down on him. “When you see me tomorrow and I look like a lobster, remember you did it,” he joked to the crowd.
Vaughn Hillyard of NBC News shared this crowd photo.
Trump commented about the crowd, asking how Biden could be ahead when crowds were the size that he was seeing today.
During his speech, Trump also talked about people being “tired” of COVID. “We’re in a pandemic because of China,” he told the crowd. In a campaign call earlier in the day, Trump called Fauci a “disaster” but said it would be a “bigger bomb” if he fired him, reported Ben Tracy of CBS News.
Before he arrived, the line of supporters waiting to get into the venue was more than half-a-mile long.
During his speech, Trump also referenced his son, Don Jr., and said he’s been through a lot recently. “Ivanka’s different,” he told the crowd. “She sort of floats through life. Pretty amazing.”
He also talked about his town hall last week and said Savannah Guthrie was “a crazed lunatic” during the event.
Not Everyone Could Fit Into the Tucson Venue, Requiring the Overflow Space for Some Attendees
His second event was a rally in Tucson, Arizona, that began at 3 p.m. Mountain time at the Tuscon Jet Center. It was hot outside for the event, with the temperature in the low 90s. Supporters said they had been lined up for more than two hours waiting. Here’s a time-lapse shared by Rafael Carranza of USA Today showing the long line of people waiting to get into the rally.
Near the early part of his speech, Trump talked about his platform’s support for the Second Amendment and economic growth. He encouraged everyone in the crowd to vote, even today if there were able to do so.
There were so many people trying to attend Trump’s rally in Tucson that many of them had to watch on a large screen outside while still waiting to get into the venue, even after Trump had started speaking. A small crowd ended up staying outside in the overflow space to watch his speech, shared Carranza.
Trump said he was feeling great and the crowd chanted “Superman!” in response. Trump talked about how he could kiss everyone in the crowd — a line he has used at rallies before. But he added that it was unclear if immunity would last longer than a few months.
Here’s another view of the crowd.
Trump has a number of events still scheduled for the coming week.
On Tuesday, he’s hosting a rally at 7 p.m. Eastern time in Erie, Pennsylvania, at the Erie International Airport.
On Wednesday, he’s hosting a rally at 7 p.m. Eastern time in Gastonia, North Carolina, at the Gastonia Municipal Airport.
On Thursday, he’s participating in the final presidential debate against Biden.
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