Fact-checking Trump's go-to rally lies
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Trump holds rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma
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Trump supporter not concerned about possibly catching Covid-19 at rally: "I'm not going to get it"
Ahead of tonight's rally in Tulsa, CNN's Gary Tuchman spoke to Trump supporters about concerns expressed by health experts that today's rally, which will be held indoors, could spark the spread of new coronavirus cases.
Hear what Trump supporters told CNN:
Today's rally comes as Oklahoma is seeing a steady increase in its average of new confirmed cases per day. New cases in Tulsa County have also been climbing, and the county is now seeing its highest seven-day average for new cases at 97.3, according to the latest data from the Tulsa Health Department.
Rally attendees will not be required to maintain social distance or wear masks, even as the administration's top public health officials continue to stress the importance of both measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
The campaign said that hand sanitizer, temperature checks and masks will be provided to rally attendees, though actually wearing a mask won't be required.
Who you can expect to see at Trump's rally
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez and Kaitlan Collins
Earlier this week, the Trump campaign announced that senior campaign officials would "lead a group of over 50 surrogates to campaign on behalf of President Trump" at the rally.
The group includes:
- Several Oklahoma Republicans, including Sen. James Lankford
- Several Black Trump campaign surrogates, including Pastor Darrell Scott, Herman Cain, Diamond and Silk, Dr. Alveda King and Terrence K. Williams
- Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan and other Republican members of Congress
CNN has learned that the Trump campaign is chartering a jet for the group of Trump surrogates in hopes of having a show of force at the Tulsa rally.
Senior campaign officials, including campaign manager Brad Parscale, are also attending. Parscale was seen inside the rally arena wearing a “Trump Pence” branded mask.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed Friday that White House officials would be attending the event as well. McEnany said she'd be in attendance, but that she didn't plan to wear a mask.
The rally was initially scheduled to be on Juneteenth, the oldest regular celebration of the end of slavery in the United States, but the timing and location drew heavy criticism from African American leaders and Democrats.
Trump will be speaking soon in Tulsa. Here's what it looks like inside the rally's arena.
From CNN's Maeve Reston
President Trump is set to deliver remarks at a campaign rally in the Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma a 00 p,.m. ET.
Though many medical experts, including top health officials within his administration, have warned against large gatherings at a time when coronavirus cases are rising in Oklahoma, Trump is holding this evening's event at the indoor Bank of Oklahoma Center arena, an indoor venue, that holds nearly 20,000 people.
Few rallygoers were wearing masks as they entered the venue to take seats that were right next to one another. The crowd standing near the stage was already tightly packed as people without face coverings stood face-to-face talking to one another as loud music played in the background.
The Trump campaign said that it takes "safety seriously," and noted hand sanitizer, temperature checks and masks will be provided to rally attendees, though actually wearing a mask won't be required.
President Trump lands in Tulsa for campaign rally
From CNN's Jason Hoffman
President Trump has landed at Tulsa International Airport, according to the press pool traveling with the President.
Air Force One was wheels down at 6:51 p.m. ET, 5:51 p.m. local time.
The President did not come back to speak to the press during the flight, nor did any other White House officials, according to the pool.
Trump is set to deliver remarks at 8 p.m. ET.
Why health experts worry Trump's rally could be a "super-spreader" event of Covid-19
From CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta
As the coronavirus plows through the United States, health experts worry President Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will become a new hotspot for coronavirus infections.
Leaders and public health experts have expressed concern, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, as well as Bruce Dart, the director of Tulsa's health department, who told the Tulsa World he wishes "we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today."
Tulsa's Bank of Oklahoma Center arena can hold just under 20,000; attendees will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis. People have been lining up for days to secure their spots.
But, at a time when Covid-19 cases are on the rise in Oklahoma — the state has seen new confirmed cases more than double from the previous week, according to analysis of Johns Hopkins University data — and in neighboring Texas, the rally could be a recipe for a super-spreader event.
Attendees will not be required to maintain social distance or wear masks at tonight's rally, despite the Trump administration's top public health officials stressing the importance of both measures in preventing the spread of coronavirus.
The rally violates virtually every one of the guiding principles for gatherings issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, putting it in the "highest risk" category:
- It's large and it's indoors.
- Social distancing almost certainly will not be possible if the arena is filled to anything close to capacity.
- Attendees will likely be yelling and chanting (and expelling droplets farther and faster than if they were speaking quietly).
- There might be social pressure to not wear masks, as many Trump supporters have mocked the use of masks during the pandemic, and Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he thinks some people wear them to signal disapproval of him.
"We know what makes transmission of the virus occur more frequently, and that includes close contact, particularly without masking, crowds, [being] indoors versus outdoors, the duration of the contact, and then shouting also increases the possibility of transmission," said Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
"There are going to be tens of thousands of people in attendance. So, it is a great place to spread virus. And from what I understand, these are not just people who live in Tulsa. There are people coming in from far away to go to the rally, so they'll be returning to their home cities, and so that we may see spread outside of the Tulsa area," she continued.
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