Trump to hold first campaign rally back in Tulsa

Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images file

President Trump announced that he will return to the campaign trail on June 20 with a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma after mostly staying in the White House since the coronavirus started.

Trump told reporters during a roundtable with African American supporters Wednesday that he plans to have events in Texas, Florida, and Arizona as well.

“We’re going to start our rallies back up now. We’ve had a tremendous rain at rallies,” Trump said.

“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.”

Oklahoma currently has 7,626 cases and is in Phase 3 of its reopen order since June 1. The Trump campaign pointed out the protests happening across the country when asked about the coronavirus. 

"Where we go, we will make sure it is safe to hold a rally and what safety precautions we put in place. We will talk about when we know exactly what kind of venue that it is that we are talking about," Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told Fox during an interview on Wednesday. "But I would point out to the national media that I don't remember them doing any social distancing shaming when they were doing all the coverage of the demonstrations that were going on."

The event was originally scheduled take place on Juneteenth, a holiday to celebrate the end of slavery, causing backlash from some about the timing of the event, before ultimately bumping the rally a day later. 

The Trump campaign put out a statement defending the move, campaign advisor Katrina Pierson they’re “proud of the history of Juneteenth.” 

“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,” Pierson said.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also defended the move saying, "The African American community is very near and dear to his heart. At these rallies he often shares the great work he has done for minority communities," mentioning Trump’s work on criminal justice reform and funding towards Historical Black Colleges and Universities.

"He's working on rectifying injustices ... So it's a meaningful day to him and it's a day where he wants to share some of the progress that's been made as we look forward and more that needs to be done."

Later, Trump put out a tweet sharing that he was pushing back the rally to June 20 after consulting with African American friends and supporters out of respect for the holiday.

“We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th - a big deal. Unfortunately, however, this would fall on the Juneteenth Holiday. Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect of this Holiday, and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents. I have therefore decided to move our rally to Saturday, June 20th, in order to honor their requests,” Trump tweeted.