Alabama City Braces for Trump Rally, Declares Covid-Related State of Emergency
The city hosting Trump’s rally on Saturday has declared a Covid-related state of emergency due to the surge of new cases that have overwhelmed Alabama’s hospitals. The declaration will provide additional resources, equipment, and medical first responders to the city of Cullman as it readies itself for the potential superspreader event hosted by the former president.
According to AL.com, the Alabama Hospital Association reported this Wednesday that there were no available ICU beds in Alabama out of the 1,562 units in the state. But that hasn’t stopped Trump or Alamaba Republicans, like Senator Tommy Tuberville and Congressman Mo Brooks, who are scheduled to speak at the rally.
Alabama’s Democratic Party Executive Director Wade Perry said the event, which is expected to draw about 40,000 people, is “ill-advised” and a “terrible idea” to have people gather “just to listen to the former president tell lies.”
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“We think it’s probably going to be the biggest super-spreader event in Alabama in a long time and really ill-advised,” Perry said. “Cullman’s got one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state and probably in the country. And it just seems like a terrible idea to get thousands of people together just to listen to the former president tell lies.”
Alabama Republican Party Chair John Wahl told AL.com that the outdoor arena will allow people to social distance and that the “people’s safety is a top priority” for the party.
“People’s safety is a top priority for the Alabama Republican Party, and it was important to us that this rally be held in an outdoor venue so people can social distance,” Wahl said.
But whether attendees will choose to socially distance or take other precautions is another matter. Earlier this month Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene received applause from the audience during a Republican fundraiser in Alabama when she said the state is “one of the most unvaccinated states in the nation.”
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