Donald Trump’s Reported Plans to Continue Holding Rallies Has People Fired Up

President Donald Trump reportedly plans to continue hosting campaign rallies in denial of the projections that he lost the 2020 presidential election, and Americans are not pleased. Sources close to the Trump campaign told CNN on Sunday that the rallies will go on, and that he hopes they will bolster his legal challenges to the election itself.

The Trump campaign is within its legal rights to call for recounts, and even to sue state and city governments for more information about the vote-counting process, as they are doing. However, these challenges come with no real evidence, and legal and political analysts fear that Trump is shaking public faith in the elector process itself. Many worry that his continued rallies will make this worse, especially since about 68 percent of Republican voters polled this weekend said that they thought there was something unscrupulous about the election results.

To be clear, there is no evidence of voter fraud, election tampering or as Trump puts it “illegal votes.” The campaign itself has turned up nothing but unsubstantiated accusations, and the state and city governments who tallied their votes cooperated with full transparency as the law demands. In spite of all this, Trump insists that the election was unfair.

Part of what makes this shocking is the amount of tampering Trump implies took place, with no basis in reality. Both parties have challenged election results before, but only when narrow margins could have gained them a win with a recount. Trump would need to make up at least 56 electoral votes to regain the presidency — an unlikely feat even if his legal team turned up evidence of negligence or wrongdoing in some states.

Trump’s campaign rallies have also been criticized for their role in spreading coronavirus in the communities where they are held, and with the pandemic now on the rise again, many Americans are fearful of what Trump’s continued campaigning could mean for them. Here is a look at how social media reacted to the news that Trump would continue to host rallies.

No Purpose

Many critics wondered out loud what practical purpose Trump’s rallies could serve, given that attendees will not have another chance to vote in the 2020 presidential election. Some argued that he intended to mislead the public further, while others thought he was just trying to stroke his own ego.

No Air Time

While Trump may not be stopped from hosting rallies, many critics called on TV stations and news networks to avoid airing those speeches to public, saying that they would only serve to mislead Americans further. Trump has often made some of his most radical and untruthful remarks at his rallies, not in official speeches as president.

Fear

Many commenters also expressed fear of how Trump’s supporters would respond to his ongoing rallies — particularly the extremist militia groups that support him, such as the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo movement.

No Work

May Americans raised concerns about what presidential duties Trump would, in turn, ignore during the time he continues to hold rallies after the election. With over two months left to go in his term, they thought that he should focus on serving the American people in any way he could with the time he has left.

Where?

Some Trump supporters responded with their eagerness to attend more rallies, even though the election is over. In addition, people on both sides questioned where Trump’s rallies would be held — wondering if he would target the states where he was already successful or the ones that voted for Biden.

Criminal

Given the likelihood that rallies would spread COVID-19 among attendees and rattle public faith in the United States’ Democratic process itself, many commenters argued that there should be a criminal case against Trump for hosting them. So far, there is no real case, and nothing to suggest that one would hold up.