President Donald Trump has canceled a planned appearance in La Crosse and will instead hold a rally in Janesville on Saturday.
The switch comes amid calls from the city’s mayor and the state’s governor, both Democrats, that he not hold a rally amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
La Crosse’s airport manager said the president canceled the rally because the airport’s lease didn’t allow for such an event to be held there.
President Trump will visit Janesville before holding a planned a rally in Green Bay, despite a surge in Covid-19 positive cases.
“The president believes people have a First Amendment right to political speech. He’s having a rally, people can choose whether or not to come,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, Gov. Tony Evers called for the campaign to require masks be worn by supporters.
“We’d have more people wearing masks if Pres. Trump…required people to wear masks at his event,” the governor told WTMJ’s Steve Scaffidi.
“We’re in a dangerous place in this state,” Evers said. “Even the White House (Coronavirus Task Force) told us this week there is exponential growth in Wisconsin. This is not sustainable without a significant number of deaths and a significant number of people infected.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
