Does recent research suggest that Trump campaign rallies may have accelerated the spread of the coronavirus?
Analyzing data from counties that hosted 18 Trump campaign rallies between June and September, a group of Stanford economists concluded that the events likely led to 30,000 coronavirus infections and more than 700 deaths (not necessarily of people who themselves attended the rallies). Critics argue that incomplete contact tracing, and the likelihood that attendees may have traveled from well beyond the host county, make it impossible to prove the impact.
A CNN analysis of 17 rallies held between Aug. 17 and Sept. 26 found that 14 host counties experienced a spike in coronavirus cases a month after their rally was held. Of the counties that saw increased infection rates, over half had experienced declining infection rates in the month before the rally occurred.
