Donald Trump has decided to hit the campaign trail again with a rally in Tulsa Oklahoma on June 19, 2020 which happens to be Juneteenth or Emancipation Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the reading of the General Orders, No. 3, which officially informed slaves that they were free after the civil war. Tulsa was the site of one of the most vicious acts of racial violence in American history when, in 1921, a mob of white people attacked a section of the city known as Greenwood or “Black Wall Street” and murdered hundreds of African Americans. For a president who asserted that “both sides” were to blame for white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 this seems like a strange choice of venue.
This will be Trumps first time at a rally since March 2, 2020. He has desperately missed the rally’s, and fondly remembered the good old days. In a CNN national poll released earlier this week, 88% of black voters said they disapproved of the job Trump is doing in office. Ninety one percent disapproved of how he is handling race relations. And 88% said they would vote for Biden over Trump in a hypothetical general election match up. Trumps heavy handed actions on the issue police violence and racism speak far louder than any words he could at a rally.
Nation wide protests are bringing about change. Confederate statues are being topples and even NASCAR has decided to ban confederate flags, a symbol of hate from future race events. The Navy on Tuesday June 9, 2020 announced it would prohibit the Confederate battle flag from all its military installations, following the lead of the Marine Corps which last week began implementing a ban on its troops displaying the flag in any form. Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, filed an amendment to the annual defense bill last week to rename all bases named for Confederate generals. Anthony Brown, a retired Army Reserve colonel, said in a statement that scrubbing the names of Confederate leaders who took up arms against the United States would help ensure “an honest accounting of our history.” Trump has decided to reject this idea.
Registration for the event requires would-be attendees to acknowledge “that an inherent risk of exposure to Covid-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending the Rally, any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc liable for any illness or injury.” In other words, going to this crowded venue may result in death.Anyone who goes to this rally shouldl get tested for Covid-19 immediately afterwards to try and avoid infecting friends and family.
Tulsa has been under shelter-in-place orders since March 29th. One republican argued the case for going to the rally saying that protestors have been going to crowded demonstrations for some time. Tulsa has 986 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 44 dead. Oklahoma state had about 7,626 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 357 dead.