The schadenfreude is sweet:
The area outside the arena had emptied out by early evening, and plans for Trump to address the audience outside were quickly scrapped. The campaign blamed protesters; there were only scattered efforts to block entrances, which were quickly resolved by police. [snip]
On June 15, Trump celebrated on Twitter that nearly a million people had requested tickets for his rally in Tulsa. His campaign manager, Brad Parscale, touted similar figures.
The campaign was so intent on involving those who could not make it into the 19,000-seat arena that preparations were made for the president to address attendees outside as well. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told reporters earlier Saturday that the outdoor remarks would be a chance for supporters fearful about an indoor gathering to take part nonetheless.
But an overflow audience failed to materialize, as the area outside the arena emptied out and plans for an outdoor address were scrapped. Inside the stadium, the program began with a swath of seats still unfilled. The upper bowl of the stadium was almost entirely empty with less than an hour before Trump was set to appear. The lower bowl was mostly full but with sections of empty seats. The floor was of the arena was about two-thirds full. [snip]
The space outside the BOK Center had been laid out for a large crowd. A stage was set for a presidential speech, with a lectern in front of an American flag and behind protective glass. Fans had been set up alongside the path to the arena, which was empty apart from foot traffic to the arena.
“They’re being wasted here,” said Cindy Marlow, 67. (our emphasis)
Unlike Trump and his minions, pictures don't lie:
As others are reporting, looks like attendance here in Tulsa is well below campaign's expectations. Here's the main floor at the arena currently pic.twitter.com/EASfSHL5nN— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) June 20, 2020
Definitely not the optics President Trump was looking for in Tulsa. https://t.co/dhEj08mn7j— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) June 20, 2020
What an embarrassing turnout for Trump hate rally!! And this was supposed to cheer him up. LOL!!
pic.twitter.com/PDnYL6xPLW— Poetic Justice (@PoeticJ59274248) June 20, 2020
Trump camp trying to manage biggest failure of 2020 campaign for event for which they set exceptionally high expectations.
Trump Cancels Tulsa Overflow Speech After No One Shows Up https://t.co/akq1QTbHpP via @politicususa #TulsaRally— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) June 20, 2020
Ouch! Embarrassing. (Bwahahahahahaha)
This is sure to enrage Trump and possibly cause heads to roll in his campaign. It might also cause there to be fewer coronavirus cases erupting in Tulsa over the next few weeks. That's a win- win.
2 comments:
It was a big embarrassment for him. It was hyped to be a major event, the grand opening of the campaign, and it was weak and lukewarm and sad. I hope that he has nightmares from the sight of all of those empty seats.
donnah -- hopefully, they'll think twice about scheduling another super- spreader event whose only point is to make the Giant Toddler preen. This one backfired so spectacularly that it might cause them second thoughts (that is, to the extent they "think" at all).
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