Trump 'Furious' Over Tulsa Rally: Insiders

And a debate erupts over the official head count of 6,200
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 21, 2020 4:30 PM CDT
Trump 'Furious' Over Tulsa Rally: Insiders
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, early Sunday, June 21, 2020, after stepping off Marine One as he returns from a campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla.   (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Looks like size really does matter—again. In a story that echoes the debate over President Trump's inauguration crowd, CNN is reporting on competing head counts at Trump's Saturday rally in Oklahoma. While the Tulsa fire marshal says 6,200 showed up at the Bank of Oklahoma Center, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh sees it differently: "12,000 people went through the metal detectors so that number is way off," he says. Team Trump is also blaming "radical" protesters for blocking the entrances, though a Secret Service spokesman says just one arena entrance was temporarily blocked by "several individuals."

"The local police temporarily closed the gates at that entrance point," the rep says. "As soon as local law enforcement was able to provide a clear path, the entrance point was reopened and attendees were permitted to enter." Not surprisingly, Trump was said to be "furious" over the undersized crowd. Multiple people connected to the White House tell NBC News Trump was also angry before the event started, when news broke that six rally workers had tested positive for COVID-19. Public health experts warned the event could become a "super spreader," and USA Today reports that most attendees didn't wear masks or observe social-distancing guidelines. (See what Trump said at the rally, and how TikTok teens may have messed with it.)

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