“I wish you had a Republican governor because, frankly, you’ve got to open your state up. You’ve got to open it up,” Trump told the crowd — even though Wisconsin currently has no statewide restrictions on gatherings, businesses or schools following recent lawsuits…

The event was held a day after Wisconsin posted a record for the most coronavirus cases in a day — 3,861. The number of people hospitalized because of COVID-19 has tripled in Wisconsin in the last month and nearly 1,600 people in the state have died from it…

“This entire pandemic is a hoax,” Brandon Rice of Eau Claire said as he waited in line “I think it was done to make him look bad. It’s fake news.”

“I refuse to wear a mask,” Rice said. When asked why, he said, “Because I’m not a sheep and I’m not scared. It’s their way to get control over us.”