President Trump is making his return to the campaign trail on Saturday with one of his trademarks rallies in Tulsa, Okla., where thousands have streamed into the BOK Center — amid protests outside and lingering controversy over the potential coronavirus risk.
It is the president’s first rally since early March, when both Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden canceled in-person campaign events as the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis began to set in. But Trump, who for months has been itching to get the country’s economy back to normal and get himself back in front of supporters at his rallies, where he appears to be most in his element, is the first to resume large in-person events.
“Hopefully our Country will soon mend,” Trump tweeted in early May, indicating he hoped to soon get back on the campaign trail. “We are all missing our wonderful rallies, and many other things!”
OKLAHOMA SUPREME COURT ALLOWS TRUMP RALLY TO PROCEED AS PLANNED; TULSA MAYOR RESCINDS CURFEW
The president, in comments on the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday, said he was excited to get back among his supporters.
“The event in Oklahoma is unbelievable,” he said. “The crowds are unbelievable, they haven’t seen anything like it and we will go there now, we’ll give a hopefully good speech, we’re gonna see a lot of great people, a lot of great friends and pretty much that’s it.”
In advance of the Saturday event, Trump supporters have been lining up for days to secure their seat in an arena that holds just under 20,000, and the Trump campaign touted Monday receiving over 1 million ticket requests.
But the potential for the rally to be a “super spreader” event has concerned observers, especially as six members of the Trump reelection campaign tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the event.
TULSA, OKLAHOMA – JUNE 20: Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gather to attend a campaign rally at the BOK Center, June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Trump is scheduled to hold his first political rally since the start of the coronavirus pandemic at the BOK Center on Saturday while infection rates in the state of Oklahoma continue to rise. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
TRUMP PREPARES FOR FIRST CAMPAIGN RALLY IN MONTHS IN TULSA AMID CONCERNS ABOUT CORONAVIRUS, VIOLENCE
“Per safety protocols, campaign staff are tested for COVID-19 before events,” Trump campaign Communications Director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement. “Six members of the advance team tested positive out of hundreds of tests performed, and quarantine procedures were immediately implemented. No COVID-positive staffers or anyone in immediate contact will be at today’s rally or near attendees and elected officials. As previously announced, all rally attendees are given temperature checks before going through security, at which point they are given wristbands, facemasks and hand sanitizer.”
The campaign believes the staffers were infected in Dallas at the Trump event there. All six are said to be asymptomatic and the campaign is working with health authorities to contact trace the staffers who tested positive.
Biden in a Saturday evening tweet slammed Trump for holding the rally despite the coronavirus concerns — Oklahoma has seen a recent bump in cases of the disease.
TULSA ARENA ASKS TRUMP CAMPAIGN FOR WRITTEN COVID-19 MITIGATION PLAN AHEAD OF RALLY
“Donald Trump is so eager to get back to his campaign rallies that he’s willing to put people at risk and violate CDC guidelines — as long as they sign a waiver promising not to hold his campaign liable. Unbelievable,” Biden tweeted.
This followed the BOK Center asking the Trump campaign this week for a written plan on how it would engage in social distancing among the rally-goers. The Trump campaign appeared to dismiss the arena’s concerns, making clear that the event would be an on-brand Trump rally.
“We take safety seriously, which is why we’re doing temperature checks for everyone attending, and providing masks and hand sanitizer. This will be a Trump rally, which means a big, boisterous, excited crowd,” Trump campaign Communications Director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.
Masks were also optional for attendees, and many people at the BOK Center, which is an indoor arena, were not wearing masks ahead of the president’s remarks. But the Trump campaign and allies like Rudy Guiliani dismissed the concerns of people who worried the rally could spread the coronavirus.
“We don’t recall the media shaming demonstrators about social distancing – in fact the media were cheering them on,” Murtaugh said.
“The Left is claiming the @realDonaldTrump rally is dangerous. But the thousands and thousands of protestors, rioters and looters were not,” Giuliani said. “Unlike their damage to our economy, this will encourage it to grow and replace socialist dependency with free enterprise jobs.”
This followed a court battle over a lawsuit that aimed to force everyone attending to wear a mask and stay at least six feet apart from one another — a policy that would have complicated the massive event with thousands of people. The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday ruled against the request.
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To add to the controversy and tension, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum had declared a civil emergency and announced a curfew near the arena amid fears of protesters from out of state coming to the rally and acting violently. It was later rescinded.
Bynum had announced “in the interest of national security” he would establish a “federal exclusion zone” in the vicinity of the rally. He cited “crowds in excess of 100,000” and opposition protests as well as recent “civil unrest.”
The Saturday rally was originally scheduled for Friday, June 19. But that day is the Juneteenth holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery int the United States. Amid recent racial tensions over the death of George Floyd, the Trump campaign changed the date of the event to Saturday.
Fox News’ Mark Merideth, Brooke Singman Adam Shaw, Russell Cosby, John Roberts and Allie Raffa, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
