The Trump campaign officially announced its first Rally since the pandemic.
Confirming that the president will hold a Rally, next Friday, in Tulsa, at a venue that
can hold 19,000 people.
And get this, anyone attending must agree to the following disclaimer “by clicking
register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists
in any public place where people are present.
By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure
to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; BOK Center; ASM
Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors,
or volunteers liable for any illness or injury.”
That is what the campaign is putting out and asking its attendees to these rallies to agree
to.
Just to be clear, Trump is having his rally attendees sign a liability waiver so that
when these rallies inevitably become superspreaders of the virus, his campaign won't be held accountable.
Ultimately, he doesn't care if his supporters die, as long as they can clap for him first.
The fact is that while Trump has just unilaterally decided that coronavirus is over and we can
re-open the economy, none of the facts back that up.
We haven’t contained the spread; there were more cases this week in the United States
than there were on March 29th.
And in many states, that number is going UP, not down.
Hospitalizations are up in more than a DOZEN states.
Austin, Texas is inching closer to reaching its hospital capacity.
And so while clear and decisive guidance from the president of the United States MIGHT be
helpful right about now, all we’re getting are mission accomplished banners and a president
only interested in getting businesses back open so he’ll have his booming economy talking
point to use in the next election.
This is the same story since day 1 of this outbreak, when Trump claimed that the virus
was completely contained, that cases would soon be down to zero, that it would go away
with the heat in April, that it would miraculously disappear, that anyone who needs a test could
get a test, and on and on.
The only strategy, the only game plan since the very beginning was to deny deny deny.
And now, with cases YET AGAIN on the rise, Trump’s plan is exactly the same.
Only now, he’s putting his OWN rally attendees at risk.
Because let’s be clear, these rallies are EXACTLY the type of scenarios in which the
virus spreads.
We’ve seen coronavirus spread, ironically enough, at protests against the stay-at-home
orders.
We’ve seen it spread at CPAC, where Trump himself was present.
And rest assured, the same thing will happen at these campaign rallies.
Meaning that Trump is knowingly putting his supporters in danger because he’s JUST THAT
DESPERATE for their applause.
By the way, that is – somehow - not the only issue with this rally.
Consider the fact that this first campaign rally in months comes in the aftermath of
Trump positioning himself squarely against the Black Lives Matter protests, and takes
place in the city of the Tulsa race massacre that occurred 99 years ago... and it does
so ON Juneteenth, the date commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
If you don’t think there’s any historical significance to hosting a rally in that specific
city, where people of color were massacred, on that specific date, in the aftermath of
THESE specific protests, which Trump has expressly come out against, then you’re not paying
attention.
And of course, his advisers will suggest that it’s just a coincidence.
Kind of like how Trump quoting a racist police chief from the 1960s by saying “when the
looting starts, the shooting starts” during a protest about race was just a coincidence.
And invoking the word “bloodlines” in reference to famed anti-Semite Henry Ford
was just a coincidence.
And claiming there were fine people on “both sides” in Charlottesville despite the fact
that one side had neo-Nazis on it was just a coincidence.
At some point, when these so-called coincidences keep happening, suddenly they don’t seem
like coincidences anymore.
And rest assured, Trump and his mouthpieces will unquestionably deny that holding a rally
in Tulsa on Juneteenth has anything to do with the historical significance.
Instead, they’ll just claim that this is the obvious choice to launch the official
re-start of his campaign—in the crucial swing state of…
Oklahoma.
And look, underneath the racism and the disdain for his own fans, is the issue that has underscored
the entirety of the Trump presidency.
And that is that he cannot exist with a constant stream of adulation and praise.
His whole presidency isn’t about governing, it’s not about helping people, it’s not
about making the country better, it’s about massaging his ego through whatever means possible.
And if that means that he’s willing to put his OWN supporters in a situation where they
could die, well apparently that’s a risk that HE’S willing to take.