Listen to this article

US President Donald Trump railed against Black Lives Matter demonstrators in his first rally in 3 months. He was addressing questions over his health, in front of rows of empty seats as attendance appeared to fall well short of predictions. President returned to the campaign with a number of false claims and racially-divisive demagoguery amid a coronavirus pandemic that he once dismissed. Point to be noted that COVID-19 cases across the United States continue to increase and protests against police brutality have persisted for several weeks. Trump’s campaign had anticipated a massive showing for its first rally since 2^nd March 2020, as he claimed that at least 1 million have requested tickets.

Trump said earlier this week, the campaign anticipated a record-setting crowd in Tulsa. He said, “We’ve never had an empty seat, and we certainly won’t in Oklahoma”. The campaign director, Brad Parscale said, “This will be the 1st time that POTUS speaks to BOTH crowds in person, inside & outside. If you come to the rally and don’t get into the BOK Center before it’s full, you can still see the President in person”! A spokesperson Tim Murtaugh claimed in a statement that protesters interfered with supporters, even blocking access to metal detectors, which prevented people from entering the rally. Radical protesters, coupled with a relentless onslaught from the media, attempted to frighten off the president’s supporters”.

The campaign texted people who signed up to attend the rally to tell them there’s still space! The campaign had initially planned to hold the rally on 19^th June (Juneteenth) but moved the date to the following day after a backlash for using a day recognizing African American emancipation from slavery as a backdrop for his return to rallies that have provoked white nationalism. Tulsa also recently recognized the 99^th anniversary of the nation’s largest racist massacre. It is noteworthy that masks were handed out to attendees, though wearing them wasn’t enforced and most attendees ignored guidelines to do so. President Trump spent nearly 10 minutes defending his awkward appearance at West Point, in which he used two hands to help him raise water to his mouth.