PHOENIX — President Trump says he is "not worried at all" when it comes to coronavirus cases spiking in Arizona as he plans to speak at an indoor rally in Phoenix Tuesday night.
Arizona surpassed 50,000 confirmed cases over the weekend, and reported nearly 55,000 cases as of Monday.
When asked during a Monday interview with Scripps Washington correspondent Joe St. George if he was concerned about potentially putting crowds at risk with the indoor gatherings, Trump said he was not and that his team is "very careful."
“No, I don’t think so. I’m going to give a speech tomorrow for a group that’s a very, very good group," Trump said. "Young people. And I don’t know how they have it set up, but I’m going to Arizona. It’s a great state.”
A big question for Phoenix @abc15 tonight - is the President's visit on Tuesday worth it? Cases are spiking in Arizona and he'll be hosting a "Students for Trump" event inside a church. The President says he isn't worried at all. pic.twitter.com/EWKg2s3tbc
— Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) June 22, 2020
St George asked again, “Not worried about it at all then?”
“I’m not worried about it, no not at all,” Trump replied. “We watch it. We’re very careful.”
President Trump will visit the border wall near Yuma in the morning before traveling to Phoenix to speak at the "Students for Trump" event at Dream City Church in the afternoon.
While Trump says he is not worried about any spread of the virus at the event, the Students for Trump event website has a disclaimer that people registering for tickets would have had to agree to before confirmation.
“By clicking register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending this convention, you and any guest voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Turning Point Action, their affiliates, Dream City Church, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury.”
A Valley attorney weighed in on the disclaimer.
"In Arizona, liability waivers are disfavored by the courts," said Attorney Marc Lamber with the law firm Fennemore Craig. "You have to check a lot of boxes for them to be enforceable."
Lamber also told ABC15, aside from the disclaimer, there are other hurdles to holding the venue accountable for getting sick.
"The more difficult challenge is, if you do get sick, you have to prove that you got sick at the convention versus all the other places you could have got sick," he said.
Meanwhile, the website now says it is not taking any more online reservations, and those who wish to attend are asked to arrive in person on Tuesday. Venue gates will open at 6 a.m. and doors will open at 10 a.m.
ABC15 will have live, unfiltered coverage of his remarks and time spent in Arizona. Tune in to ABC15 and bookmark this page to watch throughout the day. You can also watch on ABC15 Mobile, our Facebook page, and streaming channels.
