President Donald Trump, addressing a less-than-full arena for his first political rally in months, blasted anti-racism protests and defended his handling of the coronavirus on Saturday in a bid to reinvigorate his re-election campaign.
The president, who revels in large crowds and had predicted that his first rally in months would be epic, blamed the media for discouraging attendees and cited bad behavior by demonstrators outside, but did not specifically acknowledge that many seats in the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena were empty.
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Trump has brushed aside criticism for his decision to hold his first rally since March 2 in Tulsa, the site of the country's bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence against Black Americans some 100 years ago.
The president, who has encouraged a militaristic response to the nationwide demonstrations while being accused of showing a lack of empathy for the plight of black Americans, used his speech to take aim at some of the protesters.
"The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our monuments - our beautiful monuments - tear down our statues and punish, cancel, and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control. We're not conforming," Trump told cheering supporters.
Ahead of the Nov. 3 election, the Republican president is trailing in opinion polls to Biden, who has hammered Trump for his response to the protests and the pandemic.
Trump defended his response to COVID-19, saying more testing had led to identifying more cases, seemingly to his chagrin.
"When you do testing to that extent, you're going to ... find more cases," he said. "So, I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please.'" A White House official said he was "obviously kidding" with that remark.
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 coronavirus cases in recent days, and the state's department of health warned that attendees face an increased risk of catching the virus.
While Trump campaign officials said prior to the event that demand far outstripped the capacity of the venue, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence canceled speeches to an expected "overflow" crowd after a few dozen supporters showed up to a space prepared for thousands. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said protesters had "interfered with supporters" trying to enter the rally.
There were some shouting matches and scuffles outside the event between around 30 Black Lives Matter demonstrators and some Trump supporters waiting to enter. There was no sign that any Trump supporters were prevented from entering the arena or overflow area.
Trump warned that, unless he was re-elected, all Americans would endure the "chaos you're seeing in our Democratic-run cities."
"When you see those lunatics all over the streets, it's damn nice to have arms," he said, vowing to protect Americans' rights to bear arms. "Our people are not nearly as violent, but if they ever were it would be a terrible, terrible day for the other side."
The country's racial divide remains a political vulnerability for Trump. His "law and order" reaction to the protests triggered by Floyd's death has put him at odds with the views of most Americans.
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