Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
A smaller-than-expected crowd turned out for Donald Trump’s rally in Oklahoma.
Six members of team postitive for COVID-19
President Donald Trump pressed ahead Saturday with a comeback rally amid a pandemic by declaring “the silent majority is stronger than ever before,” but what was meant to be a show of political force was instead met with thousands of empty seats and new coronavirus cases on his campaign staff.
The president, who revels in large crowds and had predicted his first rally in months would be epic, complained that the media had discouraged attendees from coming and cited bad behavior from protesters outside but did not specifically acknowledge the fact that many seats in the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena were empty.
Trump sought to use the event to bring momentum back to his campaign after coming under fire for his responses to the coronavirus and to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police.
The smaller-than-expected crowd robbed him, at least for now, of the ability to highlight enthusiasm for his candidacy as an advantage over his expected Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, who has eschewed large campaign events.
Hours before the rally, Trump’s campaign announced six members of its advance team had tested positive for COVID-19. Only a handful of attendees wore masks inside the arena.
Oklahoma has reported a surge in new COVID-19 infections in recent days, and the state’s department of health warned that attendees face an increased risk of catching the virus.
“I’m not concerned about it. I think it’s mostly a hoax,” said attendee Will Williams, 46, about the coronavirus, questioning why Democrats were not more concerned about people who die from drug overdoses. Williams did not wear a mask.
The president, unusually, suggested that his own speech to the partially empty arena was not his best.
“So far tonight, I’m average,” Trump said.
Trump often feeds off the energy of big groups, something he has not been able to do since the pandemic paused his rallies.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. You are warriors. Thank you,” Trump told the crowd, filled with people wearing red T-shirts, the campaign’s signature color.
Trump canceled an address to an expected “overflow” crowd outside the arena after “protesters interfered with supporters,” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said.
Television images showed a dozen or so Trump supporters in the “spillover” area watching the event on a large screen.
There were some scuffles outside the event between Black Lives Matter protesters and Trump supporters.
“Racists go home,” shouted a woman wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt. Tulsa Police reported the arrest of a white woman wearing a T-shirt reading “I can’t breathe” from a private event area after she refused to leave.
A small group of armed men could be seen outside the event. One of them told reporters they were there in case “antifa” protesters turned violent, using the acronym for “anti-facist.”
After intense criticism, Trump postponed the rally by a day so that it did not coincide with the anniversary of the June 19 commemoration of the end of Black slavery in the United States.
On Friday, he threatened unspecified action against any “protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes” who traveled to Oklahoma, a warning that his campaign said was not aimed at peaceful demonstrators.
White House and Trump campaign officials had largely dismissed concerns about the rally’s health safety, saying masks and hand sanitizer would be available. However, participants were required to waive their right to sue if they contract the coronavirus at the event.