Dem leader: Trump visit is an insult
President Donald Trump's decision to visit Tulsa on a date celebrated in the black community feels like “a deliberate insult,” particularly since he will be holding a rally near the site of the 1921 massacre of African Americans, the chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party said Thursday.
“It feels like an insult, like a deliberate insult at worst and insensitive, unthinking and calculated at best,'' said Alicia Andrews.
Andrews, of Tulsa, said people she had spoken with are incensed that Trump plans to visit the city on June 19, a holiday also known as Juneteenth to celebrate the end of slavery.
“The fact that he chose that day, the fact that he will be a mile and a half from Greenwood feels deliberate,” she said. “The fact that his campaign hasn't reached out to any of our community leaders of color. So even if he wanted to pretend that this was in recognition or commemoration of (Juneteenth), how about you reach out to some of our African American leaders in the community? And he has not done that.”
She said she was also worried about the budget impact
the visit might have on the city and state, because security and logistical support must be provided.
The president announced Wednesday that he had chosen Tulsa to resume rallies. He has not held one since early March because of the novel coronavirus. The Trump campaign announced Thursday that the rally will be held at the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa.
Andrews, who is African American, said Trump's actions in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police have been “dismal” and that she hopes he doesn't talk about race in his remarks in Tulsa.
“I'd rather he just not bring it up,” she said.
The president using Floyd's name last week while talking about the economy was “so hurtful, so inappropriate,”
she said.
“I don't believe the president has views on race,” Andrews said. “I don't believe the president gives it any real thought. I think that he mentions it when someone tells him, but his views are out-of-touch, tone deaf, insensitive and regressive.”
Katrina Pierson, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said Thursday, “As the party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of the history of Juneteenth, which is the anniversary of the last reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. President Trump has built a record of success for Black Americans, including unprecedented low unemployment prior to the global pandemic, all- time high funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and criminal justice reform.
“Joe Biden ( the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee) spent last Juneteenth raising money at a private
fundraiser and defending comments he made celebrating his work with segregationist senators.”
Gov. Kevin Stitt and other Republicans on Wednesday hailed the president's decision to come to Oklahoma. In a prepared statement, Stitt did not mention Juneteenth. Instead, he and Trump noted Oklahoma's success in reopening the economy amid the spread of the coronavirus.
Some have questioned the wisdom of holding an event that will draw thousands of people while the virus is still spreading. The state has been experiencing an uptick in cases, though hospitalizations and the rate of positive cases have not spiked this week.
When individuals register for the rally, they agree to assume all risks regarding COVID-19 and not hold the arena or the Trump campaign liable.
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, who has tried in recent years to raise awareness of the Tulsa
race massacre and has worked with residents of north Tulsa on economic development and racial reconciliation, said Thursday that Trump's visit posed an opportunity to confront the problems.
“Oklahomans have had horrible events like the Tulsa race massacre and have raised incredible change agents like (civil rights activist) Clara
Luper,” Lankford said.
“Oklahoma, in the heart of the nation, is the right place to have a conversation about race and the future of our nation.”
Andrews said there are Juneteenth activities planned in Tulsa and that she hopes people will focus on them, rather than the president's visit.
“I absolutely think that there will be peaceful
demonstrations outside of whatever venue that is chosen, she said.
“And I hope that it stays safe.
“But what I hope happens on Friday, June 19th, 2020, is that people find a Juneteenth festival and celebrate Jubilee and not give very much attention to this distraction, this expensive distraction that is coming to town.”