Trump claims a million people requested tickets for Tulsa rally — 2.5 times population of the city

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Clearly excited about the prospect of his first campaign rally in months, President Donald Trump said on Monday that an unprecedented number of people had applied for tickets.

“Almost One Million people request tickets for the Saturday Night Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma!” he tweeted.

Given that the capacity of the arena in which the event is to take place is just 19,000, and the population of Tulsa is just over 400,000, you might think that this would present a logistical nightmare to the planners.

However, applications for tickets are a way for the Trump campaign to build up its database of emails and contact information ahead of the election.

Brad Parscale, the Trump campaign manager, enthusiastically tweeted over the weekend when sign-ups for the rally reportedly hit 200,000 and 300,000.

He speculated about holding a second event in the city to cope with demand.

At 800,000 sign-ups he described it as the “biggest data haul and rally signup of all time by 10x”.

Concerns have been raised that the rally will trigger a spike in cases of Covid-19 in Oklahoma, the number of which is already trending upwards.

Over the weekend Dr Bruce Dart, head of Tulsa’s health department said: “Covid is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently... I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today.”

His feelings were echoed by the editorial board of Tulsa World.

Monday morning’s editorial read: “Tulsa is still dealing with the challenges created by a pandemic. The city and state have authorised reopening, but that doesn't make a mass indoor gathering of people pressed closely together and cheering a good idea. There is no treatment for Covid-19 and no vaccine. It will be our healthcare system that will have to deal with whatever effects follow.”

It continues: “The public health concern would apply whether it were Donald Trump, Joe Biden or anyone else who was planning a mass rally at the BOK [Bank of Oklahoma Centre]. This is the wrong time.”

The president claims that the higher number of tests being administered across the country is to blame for the spikes in case numbers and that his rally is being singled out.

He tweeted: “The Far Left Fake News Media, which had no Covid problem with the Rioters & Looters destroying Democrat run cities, is trying to Covid Shame us on our big Rallies. Won’t work!”

Nevertheless, rally attendees must agree to not sue the campaign, venue or organisers should they contract Covid-19.

The Tulsa rally was originally scheduled for 19 June, but was shifted back a day so as not to coincide with Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery.

The choice of Tulsa as the location was also seen as inflammatory considering the nationwide protests about police brutality towards African Americans in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. Tulsa was the site of the worst racial violence in the history of the country when white mobs massacred African Americans and torched buildings in 1921.