President Trump will hold his first campaign rally Thursday night since Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry against him, communing with supporters in the Minnesota district of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar.
An overflow crowd of more than 20,000 supporters is expected to gather at the Target Center in Minneapolis, while protesters are vowing to descend on the arena in opposition.
“It is going to be huge!” tweeted Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale.
It will be the president’s first appearance before a large crowd since House Democrats announced their impeachment inquiry over his alleged pressuring of Ukraine’s president to launch an investigation of Democratic candidate Joseph R. Biden. The president has denied wrongdoing and is refusing to comply with Democrats’ demand for documents and testimony from administration officials.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo has promised a “highly visible and robust police presence” downtown for the rally. The event is going forward after the city’s Democratic mayor, Jacob Frey, demanded the Trump campaign pay more than $500,000 in expenses, and the campaign responded with a threat to sue.
The president lost Minnesota in 2016 to Democratic Hillary Clinton by 1.5 percentage points, and his campaign is devoting considerably more effort to win the state next year. Thursday’s rally will be Mr. Trump’s fourth visit to the state.
Minneapolis, in addition to being the home district of the Somali-born Ms. Omar, is a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants. The president and Ms. Omar have feuded repeatedly this year, with Mr. Trump branding her and other far-left freshman lawmakers as the new face of the Democratic Party.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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