Trump To Hold Rally With Hundreds Of Supporters On White House Lawn Saturday

The rally, first reported by ABC News and confirmed to Forbes by a White House spokesperson, will be Trump’s first in-person event since testing positive for the virus last Thursday.

In a rarity for a Trump event, masks will be required in addition to coronavirus screenings, which include a temperature check and a brief questionnaire, two sources familiar with the group’s planning told Forbes.

The development comes after White House physician Sean Conley said in a memo on Thursday that Trump “responded extremely well to treatment” for his infection and that he anticipated Trump’s “safe return to public engagements by Saturday,” apparently based on a CDC advisory that people with mild cases of the virus are generally no longer contagious after 10 days.

Still, Trump revealed in an interview with Rush Limbaugh on Friday that he was “not in great shape” when he arrived at Walter Reed Medical Center and that he “might not have recovered at all,” meaning the CDC’s 20-day window for more severe infections may be applicable.

ABC reported that Trump will give remarks “to peaceful protesters for law and order” based on an invite sent to reporters, while the New York Times reported Trump campaign aides “expressed concern” about what Trump will say, and that the event will bolster concerns about Trump’s cavalier attitude towards the virus.

The event echoes Trump’s Rose Garden ceremony announcing Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination – at which many Trump staffers and GOP figures who have since tested positive gathered indoors and outdoors not social distancing or wearing masks – described as a “super spreader” event by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease official.

It also harkens back to Trump’s Republican Convention address on the White House lawn in August, which prompted an outcry from ethics watchdogs who alleged clear Hatch Act violations.