WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s campaign announced an event in Wisconsin hours after two Democratic presidential candidates cancelled rallies and the White House suggested people “avoid crowding” due to the coronavirus.

The president will attend a “Catholics for Trump” event at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee on March 19, his campaign said Tuesday. The event appeared to be different from one of Trump’s rallies – which draw thousands of supporters to arena settings – but it was not immediately clear how many people the campaign expected. 

About an hour before the campaign announcement, the administration’s coronavirus task force held a briefing at the White House in which Vice President Mike Pence and the nation’s leading public health officials were flanked by a sign that cautioned people to “avoid crowding” and to consider limiting attendance at large gatherings.

Public health officials have been pressed for days about whether the Trump campaign should limit its massive rallies, which the president has held regularly since winning the 2016 election. Those questions have intensified as local officials have canceled several high-profile events because of the virus, including the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston and the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. 

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The president, who passed on holding a rally in the key state of Michigan ahead of that state’s primary Tuesday, currently does not have a formal rally scheduled. 

“I think that’ll be a decision that’s made literally on a day-to-day basis,” Pence told reporters when asked about the rallies on Tuesday. 

Aides to Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, who are competing for the Democratic nomination, both canceled campaign rallies in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday night, citing public health and safety concerns. Three cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Ohio in Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is located. 

Trump carried Wisconsin in 2016 and the state is a battleground this year. 

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, offered a nuanced answer on Monday when asked about the safety of the rallies. 

“You know, I can’t comment on campaign rallies. It really depends,” he said.

“If you’re talking about a campaign rally tomorrow, in a place where there is no community spread, I think the judgment to have it might be a good judgment,” he said. “If you want to talk about large gatherings in a place where you have community spread, I think that’s a judgment call. And if someone decides they want to cancel it, I wouldn’t publicly criticize them.”

Contributing: Rebecca Morin 

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