New Hampshire Democrats To File Trump Rally Right-To-Know Request

CONCORD, NH — Democrats in New Hampshire are attempting to find out what, if any, contact state health officials had with the Trump presidential campaign before the booking of a rally in Portsmouth earlier this month and why the event appeared to escape the scrutiny and oversight that are required of other large events in the state.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party will file an RSA 91-A right-to-know request Tuesday with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services requesting any emails, text messages, and documents between Commissioner Lori Shibinette and any agency staffers related to "any public health considerations or conversations" about the rally that was booked for July 11. The event was later canceled due to the trajectory of Tropical Storm Fay which would have made flying to and from Washington, D.C., and the Seacoast potentially perilous — although some media reports suggested low pre-booking attendance for the event may have been the real reason why it was canceled. After it was canceled, Fay's trajectory moved west and headed up into Canada — leaving New Hampshire filled with sunny skies.

Democrats point to July 7 comments by Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state epidemiologist, who said he had not been in touch with the campaign — despite other large events, like the Aug. 2 NASCAR race in Loudon, requiring interaction and guidance with the state before booking.

Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said there was a concern Trump's campaign was allowed to set its own rules at the expense of the health and safety of attendees. He said the governor should answer questions about this rally and why it would be allowed without health guidance from Chan and the department.

"This planned rally raised serious questions about just how far Chris Sununu was willing to go to put the health and safety of Granite Staters at risk to appease Donald Trump," Buckley said. "Chris Sununu must explain why he is sidelining public health experts and jeopardizing the health and safety of Granite Staters."

Sununu earlier this month said he planned on greeting the president at Pease, before the rally, but would not be attending it himself due to safety reasons — and came under fire for allowing it to occur when he did not think it was safe enough for him to attend.

It is unknown if Chan or anyone else at the health department was consulted before hundreds of people attended the ReopenNH rallies at the Statehouse or the thousands of people who have attended Black Lives Matter events in Concord, Manchester, Nashua, and Portsmouth. No COVID-19 outbreaks have been connected to any of the rallies held — despite many attendees not wearing masks. At previous press conferences, Sununu said those events were also not regulated by the state so the Trump rally shouldn't have to be regulated either.

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