Trump lashes out at state officials over virus restrictions at Minnesota rally

President Trump at the outset of his campaign rally in Minnesota on Friday evening eviscerated local officials for limiting his crowd size to 250 people, accusing the state’s Democratic governor of playing “games.”

Upon arrival in Minnesota, Trump visited a large overflow crowd at his outdoor rally, which was being staged at an airport in Rochester. He repeatedly claimed that 25,000 people sought to attend the event.

“The governor wants to play games,” Trump told reporters of Gov. Tim Walz (D). “He’s a weak governor. He’s done a terrible job. He doesn’t know what the hell he is doing. You’ve got thousands of people that are injured by this.”

“It is a shame what the governor did and that is why they are going to lose Minnesota, just like he did with Minneapolis where they didn’t know what they were doing,” Trump continued, referring to demonstrations earlier this year that grew violent following the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man.

“This should be a lesson. He wants to silence people,” Trump said of Walz. “The governor doesn’t know what he is doing.”

Minnesota caps the number of people gathering at indoor and outdoor events at 250 to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has killed nearly 230,000 Americans and infected more than 9 million in the country. Minnesota is among numerous states experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Trump, who often boasts about his crowd size and uses it as a marker of enthusiasm and support, went on to criticize Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) in remarks before his rally crowd.

“Your far-left Democrat Attorney General Keith Ellison and your Democrat governor tried to shut down our rally, silence the people of Minnesota and take away your freedom and your rights,” Trump told supporters.

Trump concluded his rally remarks after roughly 20 minutes, which is extremely short compared to his usual appearances that last at least an hour.