The Big Oops in Tulsa

The late Dizzy Dean once said, "It ain't bragging if you can do it." Unfortunately for Donald Trump his campaign suckered him into a lot of bragging last week which he couldn't back up. Inspired by their own hubris, but dealing with some faulty stats, all sorts of wankers working for El Presidente predicted vast numbers of people would show up in Tulsa for his big, "Back on the Road Again," extravaganza.

One million over the top Trump supporters they said. So many they constructed an outdoor concert type venue where the overflow from the BOK Center could seeTrump's speech on giant screens. So many that The Big Orange Guy was scheduled to make a second appearance after finishing inside to rev up those who hadn't been able cram themselves into the arena. The President was convinced enough of a huge turnout he cajoled the Tulsa mayor into calling off a curfew in the immediate area around the BOK arena before and after the rally.

Oops.

Well these things happen. On Sunday the Tulsa Fire Marshal's office estimated the actual crowd inside the night before was at just under 6,200, which is a little less than a third of the seats available. The disaster was so profound the Secret Service began dismantling the outdoor set up before Trump even arrived. TV talking heads were amazed when they realized there wasn't any sort of mass scrum of MAGAs left milling around outside within a short time after security threw open the doors. The paltry numbers moved one wag on Twitter to note those hearty fools who had been in line outside the arena since the Monday before could have stayed home, or in their hotel rooms, had lunch, and still gotten in with plenty of time and space to spare.

Trump campaign manager, Brad Parscale began issuing excuses as soon as the event started. He first contended demonstrators had blocked entrances to the BOK Center preventing Trump supporters from attending. Then he blamed, who else, the media for overblowing the whole COVID thing, "creating an atmosphere of fear," which lowered the number of attendees.

Reports are demonstrators blocked one of several entrances for about 15 minutes after almost everyone was already inside. As far as overblowing the COVID pandemic it had become obvious by mid-week the number of new cases in Oklahoma was spiking at a rate which was far outdistancing anything the state saw during Governor Kevin Stitt's semi-lock down. The icing on that foul cake was when news broke six of Trump's advance people who had been in town for days tested positive for COVID. That's not overblowing anything. It is simply the facts.

It also didn't help that a 51 year old grandmother in Ft. Dodge, Iowa had gone on TikTok a couple of weeks earlier urging people to apply for tickets then not go. Her request went viral and quickly racked up over two million views. Mary Jo Laupp had been incensed about the timing of the rally--the original date was June 19th, or Juneteenth, black freedom day. Using her idea requests poured in, inflating the numbers.

Just how successful her effort was is up to speculation. Ms Laupp estimates her followers ate up 10,000 tickets. However, according to media outlets, Trump's people who were using the requests to determine not just attendance, but build a massive emailing list for donations and propaganda purposes became suspicious. They started checking the voting history of applicants. The reports are saying by the middle of last week they knew at least 300,000 ticket requests were bogus, even though they still kept using the figure of one million to describe the size of the expected crowd. The feeling among the campaign staff must have been, Hey, no one will be able tell the difference between 700,000 and a million so fuck it.

The truth behind the meager number in the BOK Center Saturday night was due to a combination of things. First, COVID-19 probably did come into play. Right now Oklahoma is a far deadlier place than it was in March, April, or May and people know it. Indeed, why fight the crush in what amounts to a giant fog of potential disease when you can stay at home and watch the harangue on television? Second, it wasn't the demonstrators who were actually near the site, but the threat of demonstrations which probably deterred many. Let's face it, as crazy and bellicose as Trump supporters can act, a huge portion of them don't want any part of a real confrontation with the other side.

Right now stories of angst and anger among Trump, his family, and staffers are emerging. Knowing Big Don, Brad Parscale should start dusting off the old resume because he is going to be looking for a new job shortly.  In addition there is talk of moving future rallies either outdoors, or to smaller arenas. And, just to make sure the white folks don't get all nervous again, to rural areas where, "demonstrators," are few and far between.

Yes, Saturday in Tulsa wasn't the restart Don Trump wanted. By the time he exited the plane back in Washington he appeared to be nothing more than a tired old man who had suffered through an incredibly rough day.

Well, Don, welcome to the new reality you've created. We're glad to see, for at least a moment, you're enjoying it as much as the rest of us are.



6-22-20