Trump to buck local officials with ‘gargantuan’ rally they say poses ‘severe public health threat’

President plans to pack 4,000 people into Newport News airport hangar but officials cannot stop it

Donald Trump on Friday night plans to buck state and local health officials who are warning of a “severe public health threat” when he holds what they are calling a “gargantuan” rally at a southeast Virginia airport .

The president’s re-election campaign is planning to pack up to 4,000 people into an airport hangar  at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. Local officials have placed a crowd limit of 250 people on public gatherings.

Natasha Dwamena, director of the Hampton and Peninsula Health District, has asked the president’s campaign organisation and the company that operates the hangar to limit the crowd to 250 people. The Trump campaign, however, has signaled it has no plans to divert from its initial plans.

In a letter to Richard Martinez, general manager of Atlantic Aviation, Ms Dwamena said a crowd of 4,000 would pose a “concerning public health risk.”

But local and state officials reportedly told reporters on Thursday even if an injunction was slapped on the company that owns the hangar, it would come after the event – so they cannot stop it.

There likely is nothing officials can do to persuade a president who is publicly Covid-skeptical, and mocks mask-wearing.

At a campaign stop at a Jacksonville, Florida airport, Mr Trump reveled in the size of the crowd there.

“You can't lose when you have a crowd, you can't lose. You know you can look at the crowd. I can look at this crowd. I can look at it as far as the eye can see,” he said to loud cheers.

“As far as the eye can see I'd leave here, I said we're not losing Florida,” he said. “I can tell you that you can tell you can feel it. You can feel it. You have an instinct.”

Polls show Mr Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden essentially tied just over a month before the election. Virginia, however, appears safely in the former vice president’s column, though Mr Trump hopes to influence statewide races there.