Trump defender breaks with president over South Lawn rally while he's sick: 'It makes zero sense'

On CNN Saturday, Republican strategist and frequent Trump defender Alice Stewart criticized the president for planning a rally from the White House balcony, despite his unclear COVID-19 test status.

"Dr. Fauci says that the last large gathering at the White House was a superspreader event, and that was just a couple hundred people max," said anchor Victor Blackwell. "Why does it make sense to bring 2,000 people to the White House today?"

"Victor, it makes zero sense to do such a thing," said Stewart. "And I would say repeatedly, COVID is not a political issue. This is a public health issue. And that needs to be in the forefront of everyone's mind."

"I understand that the president wants to get out there and rally his people, but to be quite honest, the people that are going to risk their health and go to the White House and see a rally today are going to vote for this president," said Stewart. "He needs to broaden his audience, broaden his base, and people understand we are in COVID times. He can get the message out virtually, he can get the message out through tweets, he can get the message out on a debate stage. But there are many other ways to go about getting his message out, and specifically with us being uncertain about his current status with COVID, the best thing to do is the safe thing to do, and not bring together large groups of people and get your message out there virtually. People understand."

Watch below: