President Trump<\/a> late Saturday said he\u2019s done a great job in controlling the coronavirus that\u2019s killed nearly 120,000 people in the U.S. and that widespread testing for the disease is making him look bad.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re gonna find more people, you\u2019re gonna find more cases. I said to my people, \u2018Slow the testing down, please,\u2019 \u201d Mr. Trump<\/a> told the Tulsa crowd.<\/p>\n

Testing for the virus is considered a key tool in combating the virus, since it allows states to pinpoint and isolate the infected and their contacts. The administration was faulted for its early efforts to root out the disease, after a diagnostic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention failed in February.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump<\/a> said the U.S. has built a robust testing system since then, though it is sweeping up younger people who won\u2019t get sick and die, so there isn\u2019t much to worry about.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s open the schools, please,\u201d he told the Bank of Oklahoma (BOK) Center.
<\/br>Mr. Trump<\/a> spoke to a Tulsa crowd that showed little concern for the coronavirus, with few in the arena wearing face coverings despite widespread fears that an indoor gathering amid a pandemic could spread the pathogen.<\/p>\n

The Trump campaign made it clear that it felt OK moving forward with its first rally since early March after protesters against racial injustice flooded the streets nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t hear them talking about COVID,\u201d Mr. Trump<\/a> said. \u201cThat name gets further and further away from China, as opposed to calling it the Chinese virus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, he called the virus the \u201ckung flu.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan, China, in December. It swept across the globe and has infected 2.2 million people in the U.S.<\/p>\n

States across the Sun Belt, including Florida, Texas and Arizona, have reported a spike in cases as they reopen their economies, though leaders say many cases are in young people who won\u2019t flood the hospitals.<\/p>\n

The Trump campaign said it handed out face masks at his Oklahoma rally Saturday night, though wearing them would be optional.<\/p>\n

One man standing behind the podium and visible on television did have a mask on, though it was pulled down under his mouth and chin, making it useless.
<\/br>As the camera panned to the Oklahoma delegation, Sen. James Lankford was wearing a mask, though Sen. James Inhofe was not.<\/p>\n

Josie Saltarelli, 38, a paramedic from Tulsa, said she wasn\u2019t worried about the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople die of other things all the time,\u201d she told reporters traveling with the president.<\/p>\n

Her friend, Sadie McPherson \u2014 a nurse assistant \u2014 added: \u201cAnd many get better, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health experts say masks are a critical and simple tool for preventing the spread of the virus, since droplets expelled from a person\u2019s face through sneezing, coughing or talking cannot travel far.<\/p>\n

Places like Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, where mask-wearing is commonplace, have managed to control their death rates from the virus.<\/p>\n

Amid fears that an overflow crowd would spread the virus, the rally was marked by images of a less-than-full arena.<\/p>\n

An outdoor stage \u2014 set up for an \u201coverflow\u201d crowd \u2014 was never used and dismantled as Mr. Trump<\/a> arrived.<\/p>\n