DULUTH 鈥� President Donald Trump will return to Duluth for a reelection rally on Wednesday, Sept. 30, one day after he squares off with Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the first general election debate of 2020.
Trump will hold a "Make America Great Again" event at 5 p.m. at the Duluth International Airport, his campaign announced late Friday, Sept. 25. It'll be his third stop in Minnesota since August, and his first in Duluth since 2018.
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The speech will be general admission, with , his campaign said. The forecast calls for high temperatures in the mid-50s, with low chance of rain.
Minnesota 鈥� the northern part of the state, in particular 鈥� has suddenly emerged as a highly sought-after prize in the 2020 presidential election.
Biden , speaking at the carpenters union training center in Hermantown, Minn., meeting with dignitaries and members of the public in Canal Park and dropping by the Duluth Fire Department Headquarters.
That same evening, Trump was in Bemidji, that was quickly overshadowed by news of the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Vice President , earning the endorsement of several area mayors as he pitched the GOP ticket a day after the Republican National Convention concluded. The city in recent months has also seen visits from two of the president's children, and
The president was last in Duluth on June 20, 2018, when for a rally that supported the election effort of Pete Stauber, then-GOP candidate and now U.S. representative for the 8th Congressional District. The president also .
Trump earlier flew into Duluth in April 2016, taking a motorcade to the on the eve of the Republican Party primary that he went on to lose to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
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But this visit will come amid a pandemic that has prompted state officials to impose serious restrictions on large gatherings. Officially, outdoor gatherings of more than 250 people are still banned in the state due to COVID-19.
However, that policy was ignored at Trump's recent Bemidji stop, which featured few masks and no social distancing among the estimated 2,000 attendees, according to reporting from Forum News Service. Health officials acknowledged that the campaign did not adhere to guidelines, but also declined to impose any penalties.
A Duluth International Airport spokeswoman could not immediately be reached Friday night for comment on planned safety measures at next week's rally.
Trump has frequently bemoaned his defeat in Minnesota in 2016, expressing regret that he did not schedule additional visits. At 44,765 votes, or 1.52%, it was his second-narrowest loss that year.
The state has not been won by a Republican since incumbent Richard Nixon's national landslide victory in 1972.
Before Trump in 2018, Duluth had last seen a presidential stop from George W. Bush in 2004. have included Bill Clinton in 1994, Jimmy Carter in 1978 and John F. Kennedy in 1963.
