President Trump is ditching plans to hold a rally in Alabama next weekend ... and it seems his campaign is finally taking COVID-19 seriously amid rising infections in the U.S.
The Prez was scheduled to visit Alabama ahead of its Senate race between Jeff Sessions, his former attorney general, and Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn head football coach, but plans were scrapped as Alabama officials started voicing concerns about a mass gathering amid the pandemic.
Trump's campaign ultimately decided against another rally like the one in Tulsa ... where masks and face coverings were not required and campaign staffers ordered the removal of social distancing signage.
Alabama's Governor Kay Ivey announced a state order Tuesday encouraging face coverings in public and prohibiting non-work-related gatherings of any size where social distancing cannot be maintained ... which makes a massive rally unfeasible. Coronavirus cases in Alabama are also on the rise again.
The scrapped rally is just the latest sign some of the President's allies are getting serious about COVID-19 concerns -- even if he isn't yet.
Donald Trump Jr. now says "I don't think it's too complicated to wear a mask or wash your hands and follow basic hygiene protocols." Mitch McConnell finally said wearing a mask can't be stigmatized, and wearing face coverings in public are part of American's new routine in the pandemic.
The Tulsa rally also offered some hard lessons for Trump's campaign ... his first rally in 3 months of coronavirus restrictions resulted in 8 campaign staffers and 2 Secret Service agents in Tulsa testing positive for COVID-19, and the rest of his campaign staff at the rally ended up in quarantine.