Trump rally in New Hampshire postponed due to weather

President Trump’s scheduled campaign rally in New Hampshire this weekend will be postponed, the White House said Friday, due to expected storms in the area.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters traveling with the president to Florida that the rally will be put on hold for a “week or two.” 

Tropical Storm Fay is expected to make landfall in New Jersey on Friday, and its projected path shows that it will reach New Hampshire by Saturday. The storm is expected to produce heavy winds and rain.

The president was scheduled to rally supporters in Portsmouth, N.H., on Saturday evening. The event was slated to take place in an airplane hangar that is open on at least one side.

“The rally scheduled for Saturday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire has been postponed for safety reasons because of Tropical Storm Fay. It will be rescheduled and a new date will be announced soon,” Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign, said in a statement.

Trump added in a tweet he would return to the state “soon.” 

Forecasters projected that the storm was not expected to hit Portsmouth directly. However, the rally was expected to attract some supporters from neighboring areas in the storm’s path, posing a safety threat and threatening attendance.

The rally would have been Trump’s second in recent weeks as the president returns to the campaign trail with large events amid the coronavirus pandemic.

His rally last month in Tulsa, Okla., fell short of attendance expectations, and public health officials said it likely led to a spike in infections in the area as supporters huddled close together and mostly avoided wearing masks.

The campaign selected an open-air venue for the New Hampshire rally as evidence suggests the virus is less transmissible outdoors, particularly when social distancing and masks are used.

Officials said masks would be distributed to attendees at the rally, and their use would be strongly encouraged.

Trump narrowly lost New Hampshire in the 2016 election, but the president and his advisers have long viewed the state as one it could flip in 2020. The Granite State and its four electoral votes have become increasingly important as Trump has seen his electoral map shrink elsewhere.

Updated 1:17 p.m.