Trump changes Tulsa rally date from Juneteenth to June 20 out of 'respect' after request from black supporters
In the face of the growing backlash over hosting his MAGA rally in Tulsa on the historically significant Juneteenth (June 19), President Donald Trump has decided to delay the event in Oklahoma by another day. The plan to hold the rally in a city and on a day that commemorates the end of slavery in America at a time when the country is witnessing protests over the death of a black man in police brutality has provoked the president’s critics. Tulsa holds a gray place in history as it saw a race massacre on May 31 and June 1, 1921.
On Friday (June 12) night, Trump tweeted: “We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th – a big deal. Unfortunately, however, this would fall on the Juneteenth Holiday. Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect for this Holiday, and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents,” he said, adding: “I have therefore decided to move our rally to Saturday, June 20th, in order to honor their requests. We have already had ticket requests in excess of 200,000 people. I look forward to seeing everyone in Oklahoma!”
Trump's tweet came hours after he defended Tulsa rally on Juneteenth
Earlier in the day, however, Fox News aired an interview in which the Republican leader defended the idea of holding his first campaign rally since the Covid-19 shutdowns in Tulsa on Juneteenth. “Think about it as a celebration. My rally is a celebration. In the history of politics, I think I can say there's never been any group or any person that's had rallies like I do,” Trump told host Harris Faulkner.
The host, an African-American, asked the president if the date and venue for the rally were done “on purpose” as both have an appeal to black Americans and Oklahoma is not a swing state. Juneteenth marks the day the last batch of slaves were informed of their freedom, thanks to the Emancipation Proclamation that Abraham Lincoln had signed in September 1862 and became effective in January 1863. On June 19, 1865, two months after Lincoln’s assassination, Major General Gordon Granger came to Galveston, Texas, to declare the end of the Civil War and slavery. Although the practice was abolished more than two years earlier by the Emergency Proclamation, it still continued in some areas.
Trump replied to Faulkner saying: “No, but I know exactly what you're going to say.” The host said she was just asking a question and had nothing specific to say.
'Trump throwing white supremacists welcome home party'
Trump’s critics, particularly the blacks, slammed his decision to hold the rally in Tulsa. California Senator Kamala Harris, also a vice-presidential contender, told the Associated Press: “This isn't just a wink to white supremacists - he’s (Trump) throwing them a welcome home party.” Sherry Gamble Smith, the president of Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce, named after the Greenwood neighborhood where the attacks happened 99 years ago, said: “Tulsa is outraged”.
“To choose the date, to come to Tulsa, is totally disrespectful and a slap in the face to ever happen,” she told the AP and suggested Trump should change the date to 20th. Some estimates said up to 300 people were killed in the racial violence in Tulsa while several hundred more were injured. Trump’s planned rally could also see more ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests taking shape and that has left the public health officials worried over the further spread of the coronavirus. The organizers of the rally have asked those supporters of Trump who plan to attend it to sign a disclaimer that they will not be able to sue either the president or other affiliates if they contracted Covid-19 at the event.