Pence rally requires COVID waiver
Tuesday’s campaign stop is in Waukesha County
MADISON – Anyone who reserves a ticket to see Vice President Mike Pence Tuesday at a campaign stop in Waukesha County must first agree not to hold President Donald Trump’s campaign liable if ticket goers contract the coronavirus.
Tickets to a rally in Waukesha’s Ingleside Hotel that kicks off the Trump campaign’s “Faith in America” tour require attendees to “voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure” to coronavirus and “waive, release, and discharge” the Trump campaign and its associates from “from any and all liability under any theory, whether in negligence or otherwise, for any illness or injury.”
The rally, set to begin Tuesday afternoon, is being held at a time when the virus has slowed considerably in Wisconsin but has not disappeared. On Monday, the number of cases in the state had surpassed 25,000 since March with about 250 new positive tests reported over the last 24 hours.
Attendees of a rally Trump held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week included the same liability waiver, which was criticized by Democrats.
Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Andrew Hitt said the waiver “seems like a responsible thing for the campaign to do to convey that it is a personal decision whether to attend an event or not.”
Trump is recharging a campaign schedule deflated by the virus pandemic as state and county health officials nationwide have banned gatherings as large as the crowds Trump usually draws.
The president last visited Wisconsin in January — a rally that drew thousands to a Milwaukee arena. He plans to visit a shipbuilder in Marinette on Thursday.
Pence’s event in the Milwaukee suburbs aims to kick off a new leg of the campaign and will feature White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
Trump’s effort to protect the campaign from lawsuits highlights the risk the virus still poses even as restrictions lift on large gatherings and businesses reopen.
In Wisconsin, a state Supreme Court ruling knocked down most of Gov. Tony Evers’ order to place restrictions on daily life in the state in an effort to contain the spread of the virus for which there is no vaccine.
In its place, county officials have released their own orders to contain the virus or issued guidance.
Waukesha County health officials earlier this month recommended gatherings be limited to 100 people, far fewer than the Ingleside Hotel can accommodate. It’s unclear how many attendees will be allowed at the Pence event, but just two tickets may be reserved by one person.