Impatient Trump to Resume Presidential Campaign Next Week (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Donald Trump will finally resume his presidential campaign rallies on the 19th (local time).

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

President Trump told reporters at the White House that he will hold a public rally next Friday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He also announced plans to campaign in Florida, Arizona, and North Carolina. Trump added that he will attend the U.S. Military Academy graduation ceremony this Saturday.

President Trump had suspended public rallies since early March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as his approval ratings were significantly shaken by the inadequate response to the death of George Floyd, he decided to restart his re-election campaign beginning in this region where Republican support is overwhelming. Tulsa was a region where Trump won by a 36 percentage point margin over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. The reopening of the economy to phase 3 has also begun, creating an environment conducive to resuming rallies.

The New York Times reported, citing sources, that the Trump campaign will not encourage social distancing or mask-wearing among rally participants. The campaign explained that they are seeking ways to minimize the risk of infection, but since President Trump has repeatedly emphasized that he does not want to speak alone in an empty rally venue, it seems likely that many people will be gathered for the rally. There is a high possibility of criticism that this behavior ignores the risk of COVID-19 infection.

President Trump’s decision reflects a sense of urgency that he can no longer afford to fall behind in approval ratings. The New York Times reported that this decision came after a CNN poll showed Trump trailing Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden by 14 percentage points.

CNN also reported that President Trump demanded an apology for the coverage of this poll result. This indicates that Trump is taking the poll results very seriously. Trump himself has rebutted the poll results, calling them "fake as reported by CNN."

Recently, President Trump launched attacks against the Democrats and Biden through ideological debates, and on this day, he provoked conservative voters by refusing to rename Confederate military bases from the Civil War era. In a tweet, he said, "There are demands to rename about ten military bases including Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Hood in Texas, but our government will never do that. Respect our military."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.