Trump appears to cancel La Crosse, Wis. rally after mayor's request
DULUTH, MN - SEPTEMBER 30: President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Duluth International Airport on September 30, 2020 in Duluth, Minnesota. The rally is Trump's first after last night's Presidential Debate. (Photo by Stephen Matu ((Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
(FOX 9) - Hours after two Wisconsin physicians called on the Trump Campaign to postpone rallies in La Crosse and Green Bay scheduled for Saturday due to spikes in COVID-19, the campaign appears to have cancelled the La Crosse event.
According to a report from the Associated Press, La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat's office says Air Force One is not coming to La Crosse Saturday.
“We have received word that Air Force One is not coming to La Crosse on Saturday, so we are assuming the Trump campaign has changed its plan and is not coming to La Crosse,” Caley Cavadini, spokeswoman for La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat, said Thursday to the AP. Kabat had called for Trump to cancel the rally.
Dr. Bob Freedland, a La Crosse opthamalogist and Dr. Ann Helms, a Brookfield neurologist, called on the campaign to postpone the rally, which they feared could be “superspreader” events in communities already seeing spikes in COVID-19.
According to a report from Bloomberg News, Green Bay's mayors are urging the President to reconsider the format of his appearance to reduce crowds.
According to national data analyzed by the New York Times, the state of Wisconsin has seen a more than 100 percent case increase over the last four weeks, the highest surge in the nation during that timeframe. Locally, both La Crosse and Green Bay are in the top 11 American metro areas in case growth per capita over the last two weeks.
La Crosse is 11th on that list with 61 cases per 100,000 people and Green Bay is third nationally in daily cases over the last two weeks with 76.2 cases per 100,000 people. Nearby Appleton is 4th on that list and the Oshkosh-Neenah area is first nationally.
President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies, including Wednesday's rally in Duluth, Minnesota, usually involves crowded outdoor venues where masks are scarce and social distancing is virtually nonexistent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.