Trump to hold first campaign rally since COVID-19 outbreak in US
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The announcement, which comes amid sweeping protests against racism and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death, also raised eyebrows for its date, a day known as Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery, as well as its location in Tulsa, a city with a troubling history of racial violence.
US President Donald Trump will hold his first campaign rally Tulsa, Oklahoma, next Friday since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has claimed more than 110,000 lives.
The 19 June rally will likely rattle some public health experts, as coronavirus infections rise in about a dozen states. On Wednesday, the US approached nearly 2 million confirmed cases.
Trump’s signature rallies often draw tens of thousands of people but have been on hiatus since 2 March because of the coronavirus. The president’s campaign has been eager to resume them as it tries to move past the pandemic, even as cases continue to rise in some parts of the country.
A Trump campaign spokesperson tweeted a movie trailer-style video earlier Wednesday that advertised: ''This month we’re back.''
There is nothing like a @realDonaldTrump rally! pic.twitter.com/ZQRDnQoxAp
— Erin Perrine (@ErinMPerrine) June 10, 2020
''A beautiful new venue, brand new. We’re looking forward to it,'' Trump said during a White House event. ''They’ve done a great job with Covid, as you know, the state of Oklahoma.''
The announcement, which comes amid sweeping protests against racism and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death, also raised eyebrows for its date, a day known as Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery, as well as its location in Tulsa, a city with a troubling history of racial violence.
Tulsa’s 1921 race massacre saw the destruction of black businesses and residences at the hands of angry, white mobs, and has been described as “the single worst incident of racial violence in American history.”