Rush Limbaugh, Lee Greenwood, Hannity to accompany Trump at rally

President Donald Trump will rally supporters in Cape Girardeau on Monday with the help of a number of celebrities, including conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and country music star Lee Greenwood.

Greenwood, perhaps best known for his song "God Bless the USA" will perform at the rally at the Show Me Center. Limbaugh, a native of Cape Girardeau, has a national radio show.

Hannity has both a radio show and a prime time television show. He is scheduled to host his radio show Monday afternoon from Cape Girardeau.

The rally is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

Monday's rally, on the eve of Tuesday's midterm elections for control of Congress, will culminate a six-day blitz of battleground states, involving 11 rallies.

Trump will campaign here in support of Republican Josh Hawley who is seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. According to the polls, the race is a toss up.

Security officials continued to work out logistics through the weekend, with changes in plans transpiring into Sunday evening.

On Saturday, the Cape Girardeau Police Department released information regarding parking and shuttle systems from six locations, but on Sunday emails that went out to ticket holders from Trump's campaign said shuttles would not be running from any of the parking locations except West Park Mall.

On Friday, officials had said that no parking would be allowed at the Show Me Center, but that changed on Saturday. Police said parking would be allowed at the Show Me Center, but they expected the lot to fill up quickly and offered the six locations for overflow and shuttles.

The times of the shuttles also changed. Originally scheduled from 4 p.m. through midnight, emails that went out to ticket holders said shuttles would begin running from West Park mall beginning at 10 a.m. behind the building at 3049 William St.

No coolers or chairs will be permitted on the shuttles -- only small backpacks or purses, according to the email from the Trump campaign.

More tickets are issued than seats are available, meaning thousands will not be able to see the president speak. The Show Me Center seats roughly 7,600 people. U.S. Rep. Jason Smith told the Southeast Missourian on Friday that 40,000 tickets were requested for the planned September visit that was canceled because of Hurricane Florence. Those wanting to see the president speak are advised to arrive early.

On Sunday, Cape Girardeau County Democratic Central Committee chairman Jonathan Kessler said Trump's scheduled rally in Cape Girardeau will turn off many voters.

In an emailed, lengthy statement to the Southeast Missourian, Kessler wrote that Trump "is here to activate what he perceives as his base voters. The problem is that his message -- rhetoric and tone, unbecoming of the office that he holds, is toxic to most voters."

Kessler added, "Obviously, some people seem to love it. The rest of us -- fair-minded Republicans, independents and Democrats -- are sick and tired of it."

Kessler said that Trump's aborted visit in September "drew out supporters we did not know we had and that has been key to our late campaign efforts. His second visit could not come at a more opportune time for those who oppose his positions and we could not be happier about it."

Trump originally was scheduled to hold an evening rally Sept. 13 at the Show Me Center on behalf of Hawley, Missouri's attorney general. But the president canceled the rally as emergency responders braced for Hurricane Florence, which was bearing down on the East Coast.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

bmiller@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3625