LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is hiring additional doctors, increasing fans and water bottles and allowing supporters to bring umbrellas to an outdoor rally Sunday in Las Vegas, where temperatures are expected to soar. exceed 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).
Trump returns to Nevada, one of the most contested states in the November elections, for his second rally since he was found guilty of paying to silence complaints against him. The unprecedented conviction of a former president has spurred Trump’s fundraising and galvanized his supporters, but whether it will sway undecided voters remains to be seen.
Temperatures in the southwest have dropped after reaching record highs last week, but remain above normal for this time of year. The rally is at noon in a park with little shade next to the airport.
Campaign organizers say they will have plenty of water bottles to hand out to attendees and cooling tents will be set up throughout the venue. Misting fans will be distributed.
The campaign paid for additional medical services to be on site in case of an emergency. The Secret Service will make an exception to allow people to bring water bottles and umbrellas.
During a Trump rally in Arizona on Thursday, Phoenix police said 11 people were treated in hospitals for heat exhaustion. Many Trump supporters waited in line for hours and some were not allowed into the event. That day the temperature reached a record 45 °C (113 °F).
Trump’s rally in Nevada, his third in the state this year, comes at the end of a Western tour that included several fundraising events.
Democrat Hillary Clinton won Nevada in 2016, as did President Joe Biden in 2020, but it was the only battleground state where Trump did better against Biden than Clinton. In the 2022 midterm elections, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, was the only one who failed to be re-elected.
Trump hopes his strength among working-class voters and growing interest among Hispanics will carry him to victory in the state.
