TOPLINE
Many members of the crowd camping outside a venue set to host President Donald Trump’s first rally since the coronavirus pandemic began is made up of people over the age of 65, according to a report—adding concern that a vulnerable population may be putting their health at risk in a city that has become one of the nation’s new epicenters of the coronavirus.
NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 28: President Donald Trump appears at a rally on the eve … [+] of the South Carolina primary on February 28, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Trump administration is coming under increased criticism from democrats for not doing enough to prepare America for the Coronavirus. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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KEY FACTS
According to The Guardian, a crowd of about 70 people are now camping out ahead of Trump’s Saturday rally at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, many of whom are over the age of 65—a demographic the CDC has said is high-risk and should be especially careful about potentially exposing themselves to the coronavirus.
Local elected officials—mostly Trump-supporting Republicans—have expressed concern about Trump holding the rally, and the top public health official in Tulsa has asked Trump’s campaign to postpone the event.
But Trump has continued to hype up the rally, where masks will be optional, claiming Monday that “Almost One Million people” had requested tickets for the rally, which will be held in a 19,000-seat venue.
In a meeting with governors Monday, Trump told Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt that the state was chosen because “you have done so well with the Covid.”
The state of Oklahoma and Tulsa County especially are seeing a massive spike in coronavirus cases; the 7-day average for new cases in Tulsa has jumped over 400% this month.
The Trump campaign has said it will be taking health precautions, such as requiring a temperature screening to enter the arena and handing out face masks to everyone in attendance, and attendees will be required to sign a waiver agreeing not to sue the Trump campaign or event organizers if they are exposed to coronavirus.
CHIEF CRITICS
In a statement Tuesday, Republican Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynym said, “I don’t like to be the first to try anything. I would have loved some other city to have proven the safety of such an event already.”
Some residents and businesses also recently brought a lawsuit aiming to make the Trump campaign enforce social distancing guidelines at the rally, but a judge threw out the case.
KEY BACKGROUND
The CDC warns that people over the age of 65 are at more serious risk of developing complications from the coronavirus, while many health officials have urged people in that demographic to continue staying home as much as possible. Trump himself is part of this demographic, having just turned 74, though he has refused to be seen wearing a mask in public.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The rally is expected to draw a far larger crowd than the BOK Center can handle, and areas are being set up to handle an overflow crowd. Axios reports that the campaign intends to turn the event into “a massive pro-Trump festival complete with musical acts.”
TANGENT
Trump originally planned to hold the rally on Friday, which coincided with Juneteenth, before deciding to move the date to Saturday. Protests are expected to take place in cities across the country on Friday to mark Juneteenth and to speak out against police brutality and systematic racism against the Black community.
FURTHER READING
Senior Trump official warns people at ‘high risk’ for coronavirus not to attend rally (The Guardian)
Coronavirus Cases Skyrocketing In Tulsa Days Before Trump Rally (Forbes)
Exclusive: Trump plots virus-era, made-for-TV mass festival (Axios)
After Backlash, Trump Reschedules Juneteenth Rally In Tulsa (Forbes)
