US President Donald Trump held his first campaign rally in front of an audience less than expected since the inception of the American Coronavirus Lockdown.
Trump said earlier this week that nearly one million people at the Tulsa Bank of Oklahoma Center had requested tickets to the event.
But the 19,000-seat arena was not full and plans to address the outer "overflow" area were abandoned.
There were concerns about organizing the rally during the epidemic
Those attending the rally are required to sign a waiver to protect the Trump campaign from liability for any illness. Hours before the event began, the six staff involved in organizing the rally tested positive, officials said.
However, it is not clear why attendance was lower than previously. Mr. Trump, who spoke on various issues for nearly two hours, described those in the stadium as "fighters", accusing the media and protesters of alienating supporters. There were some shaky scenes outside the venue, but no serious issues were reported.
Trump's re-election campaign was one of the largest indoor gatherings in America since the nation's Kovid-19 outbreak began, and came at a time when Oklahoma was seeing an increase in confirmed cases.
According to data from Johns Hopes University, more than 2.2 million Kovid-19 and 119,000 people died in the US.
What did Trump say?
In his opening remarks, Mr. Trump said that "there are so many bad people outside, they are doing bad things," but did not elaborate.
On the coronavirus response, Trump said he would encourage officials to slow down the investigation as more cases are discovered. He described the trial as a "double-edged sword."
"Here's the bad part: when you test to that extent, you're going to find more people, you get more cases," he told the crowd. "So I say 'test slow'. They test and they test."
A White House official later said the president was "clearly joking."
Trump has described Joe Biden as a "helpless puppet of radical leftists" targeting his Democratic presidential rival.
The Trump campaign in Tulsa featured all the colors and characters of his typical rallies.
"Make America Great Again" hats, Hillary Clinton calls her "Lock in the Chants", an ear-piercing soundtrack - squint, and it looks like the kind of vicious celebration that Trump ran the White House in 2016 and the president. He discussed the rise of the presidency.
As Trump enters the stage and the huge swatches of blue upper-deck seats are empty, there is no rush of capacity.
Blame the coronavirus for discouraging people from participating. The Trump campaign has accused Phantom protesters - in a statement - of blocking their entry into the rally site. Blame the mischievous liberals for filling the campaign with fake ticket requests, encouraging a massive flowing crowd.
Whatever the reason, those large groups have not materialized. It's not a bad poll, but when your campaign claims over a million RSVPs, it's a shame to hit that mark.
Given the often discomfort of campaigning and the growing discomfort about the direction of the country in the midst of elections, the president needs more than a Comfort-Blanket rally to return on good days.
What's the background?
The rally was held amid fears that it would become a coronavirus "super spider" event.
Tulsa Mayor GT Beyonce said in a Facebook post that Tulsa residents have been divided, making it the first city to host such an event.
"We are doing this because our positive Kovid-19 cases are growing, but our hospital capacity is strong. Some think it's great, some think it's careless. Even if each of us falls on that spectrum, we will pass. As a society," he wrote.
Emotions were high after police killed an unarmed black George Floyd in Minneapolis last month, leading to widespread racist-to-protest protests.
Citing the danger of "civil unrest," Mayor GT Barnum announced Thursday the curfew surrounding the BOK Center. But on Friday, Mr. Trump announced that the curfew had been lifted by "many of our supporters."
Trump originally planned to hold the rally Friday. But after discovering the matter on June 19, he changed the date known as Junehant last week to end slavery in America.
The choice of position is also controversial. In 1921, Tulsa was the scene of an acolyte in which whites attacked blacks and businesses, killing 300 people.
At a peaceful Junten rally in Tulsa on Friday, civil rights activist Al Sharpton said campaigners could "make America great" to everyone for the first time.
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