President Donald Trump is set to hold a rally in Los Vegas on Sunday as the southwest is facing a blistering heatwave, but his campaign is taking precautions as thousands are expected to show up despite the extreme weather.
Temperatures are forecast to rise to just under 100 degrees in Nevada as supporters gather outside to hear the ex-president speak at Sunset Park, southeast of The Strip at noon.
By the late afternoon, the scorching heat is expected to go beyond 100 degrees to 104.
The event is part of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s swing through the west over three days that included a campaign stop in Arizona, fundraising events in California and a rally in the battleground state.
In Arizona, eleven of Trump’s supporters had to be taken to the hospital for heat-related symptoms after waiting in line in the blazing heat to hear Trump speak at a Turning Point USA event on Thursday in Phoenix.
Despite the heat, the crowds backed up the entire way through the park. Some supporters carried umbrellas and massive hats to shield them from the intense sun.
Some people told DailyMail.com they showed up as early as 3am to get into the Las Vegas event.
‘The sun doesn’t bother me,’ said Zach Hammond, 30, from Las Vegas. He claimed Trump is dealing with a corrupt justice system. ‘If he can go through all that for us, then I can be out here in the heat for him.’
The Trump campaign said in advance of the rally it would be taking precautions ahead of the Las Vegas event, making water bottles available for attendees and allowing small umbrellas through security.
Large stacks of water bottles were placed throughout the event.
There will also be some tent space with shade and air conditioning on a first come first serve basis, and medical staff will be on hand in case of emergencies.
It is Trump’s first visit to the state since he was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
But the conviction has not stopped his biggest supporters from turning out.
At the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas ahead of the ex-president’s visit, loyal supporters wearing red MAGA hats and other 2024 Trump gear milled in the lobby. Some flew in from as far as New York and Minnesota.
At the bar, his backers reminisced about past sighting of Trump while sipping beer and mixed drinks.
One cocktail on the menu was even called ‘Death by Trial’ but the bartender said it is not new despite the ex-president’s current legal trouble and now conviction. The drink with a mix of rum and lime juice is not bad on a hot day.
At one point, a crowd gathered in the lobby with onlookers whipping out their phones in preparation for a possible Trump sighting. The ex-president was in town Saturday night ahead of the rally for a fundraiser with mega-donors.
But the crowd slowly disbursed as supporters realized the possibility of Trump making a grand entrance in the lobby at that moment was a false alarm.
Nevada is one of the biggest battlegrounds of the 2024 presidential election. Biden won it in 2020 by less than 34,000 votes. But the pandemic and persistent inflation have taken a toll.
The Nevada Senate race in the 2022 midterms was one of the tightest in the country and Nevadans elected a Republican governor that year.
A series of recent polls out of the Silver State have Trump leading. The Fox News poll from early June has Trump up by five points at 45 percent compared to Biden’s 40 percent among registered voters.