Trump plans poll rally as anti-racism protesters topple statues of Columbus
nWASHINGTON/ NEW YORK: Haunted by sagging poll numbers, US President Donald will relaunch his election campaign next week ending a nearly three-monthlong pause even as the country is tormented by the coronavirus pandemic and a wave of anti-racism protests.
“We’re going to be starting our rallies. The first one, we believe, will probably... be in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” he said on Wednesday.
Trump didn’t say what kind of anti-pandemic precautions will be taken at the June 19 rally. Oklahoma has one of the lowest infections rates, with a total of around 7,500. “They’ve done a great job with Covid, as you know, in the state of Oklahoma,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, protests raged across the country in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing. Statues of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus were beheaded and vandalised as calls to remove sculptures commemorating colonisers and slavers swept the US.
While most rallies were relatively peaceful, crowds in Portland, Oregon, threw bottles at police. Thomas Lane, one of the former cops charged in Floyd’s killing, was released on bail.
Despite the US military’s openness to rename bases christened after Confederate generals who defended slavery, Trump nixed the move. Calling them “monumental and very powerful”, Trump tweeted that the bases are part of a “Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory and Freedom”.
Trump’s spirited defence of the base names came as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the removal of statutes of confederate figures in the Capitol. And auto-racing company NASCAR outlawed the display of the confederate flag at its events.
On Thursday, chairman of the chiefs of staff Mark Milley expressed regret for accompanying Trump on his controversial walk through a park outside the White House violently cleared of peaceful protesters on June 1. Trump had gone on to pose for pictures in front of a church damaged in protests.
“I should not have been there. As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it,” Milley said in a pre-recorded video address.