'Death Star' trends as Internet says teenagers destroyed Trump's Tulsa rally just like the weapon in 'Star Wars'
The Donald Trump administration raised some eyebrows early May when his campaign manager Brad Parscale sent out a tweet comparing the president's re-election campaign to the 'Death Star' — seemingly forgetting that the Death Star belonged to the villains in 'Star Wars: A New Hope'. However, as of June 20, the metaphor could not have been more apt, as a vital weakness in campaign strategy was exploited by a group of youths fighting against what Twitter fans are calling an "evil Empire".
On June 20, Trump held a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the attendance was much lower than the expected 1M. Pictures of the BOK Center's many empty seats made the rounds on the internet, with many touting the low attendance as a sign that Trump's popularity was slipping, though others also theorized that coronavirus concerns might have been responsible. However, a collection of K-Pop fans have claimed that they also played a significant part in reducing the number of people in attendance at the Trump rally — by buying tickets and never showing up.
In response to a tweet from the Trump campaign asking people to register for the rally in Tulsa, K-Pop fans started reserving tickets and asking their followers to do the same. The trend quickly spread as thousands of tickets were reportedly bought and never used, according to The New York Times. If true, then K-Pop fans have just used TikTok to strike a major blow to the Trump campaign, and fans online could not be more amused.
"@realDonaldTrumpis was amazing! Amazingly hysterical! @parscale & his Death Star was destroyed by a bunch of teenagers!" writes one Twitter user. "The way I just rewatched a new hope last night and now people are comparing Trump's campaign to the death star saying it was taken down by a bunch of teenagers I love to see it lmaooo," writes another. "I know that TikTok is super popular with young people and even great comedians like @sarahcpr but who the hell knew that it could take down the Death Star?" writes this one bewildered user. "@HamillHimself took out the Death Star as a young man... tonight kids who love KPOP on TikTok took down Trump," writes a fan, tagging Mark Hamill himself.
Parscale, for his part, has tried to cover up the low attendance on his Twitter timeline by retweeting tweets that blame low attendance on the media having "scared" Trump supporters with reports of violent protesters. He also added that the rally had 2.6M online viewers.
Whatever the case, this collection of K-Pop fans and TikTok users has given Trump detractors something that's been sorely lacking in 2020 — a new hope.