WASHINGTON - Officials are considering
other venues in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for President Donald Trump's
first campaign rally since the coronavirus shutdown, Vice
President Mike Pence said on Tuesday, as virus cases climb in
Oklahoma and other states.
A Trump campaign official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said later the rally would be held at the BOK Center
arena in downtown Tulsa as planned, "but the campaign is also
considering other areas adjacent to the arena to allow the
president to address even more people."
Questions about logistics for the rally and its public
health implications mounted as an Oklahoma judge denied a
petition for a court order to block the event until organizers
adopt social-distancing measures to curb coronavirus infections.
The lawsuit, filed by two Tulsa businesses and two
immunocompromised city residents, said the prospect of
assembling tens of thousands of shouting, chanting people inside
an enclosed arena amounted to a "super-spreader" coronavirus
event in the making.
"As currently planned, the event will endanger not only the
health of guests in attendance ... but the entire Tulsa
community and any community to which the guests may afterward
travel," the lawsuit said.
Pence acknowledged the health risks of bringing so many
people together - the campaign said it had received more than 1
million ticket requests - during an interview with Fox News.
"It's all a work in progress. We've had such an overwhelming
response that we're also looking at another venue. We're also
looking at outside activities, and I know the campaign team will
keep the public informed as that goes forward," Pence said.
"But it's one of the reasons that we're going to do the
temperature screening and we're going to provide hand sanitizers
and provide masks for people that are attending."
Pence said officials were discussing options with Oklahoma's
governor.
The campaign rally will be Trump's first since early March,
when the coronavirus pandemic led to quarantines and the
shuttering of the U.S. economy. Trump is seeking re-election in
November against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
"One of the reasons we chose Oklahoma is because Oklahoma
has done such a remarkable job in reopening their state," Pence
said.
However, coronavirus infections are on the rise in the
state, particularly around Tulsa. The city's chief health
officer has expressed concern about holding such a large indoor
and said he wished the rally could be postponed.
An editorial in Tulsa's largest newspaper said the rally
would risk lives and bring no benefit to the city. It called
Trump "a divisive figure" who is likely to attract protests and
said there was no reason to think a rally would affect the
November election in the state, which is heavily Republican.
"This is the wrong time and Tulsa is the wrong place for a
Trump rally," the Tulsa World said.