Tulsa, OK health officials are going public with their anger at Trump for refusing to cancel a scheduled rally in the city as virus cases are rising.
“Like any other public health official, I’m a little angry,†Mr. Dart said about the rally. “Frankly, I’m afraid for a lot of people. It hurts my heart that we know this is a possibility and we’re doing it anyway. It’s like seeing the train wreck coming.â€
Ms. Keith and Mr. Dart said they were particularly concerned about visitors from nearby states, several of which have recent spikes more severe than Oklahoma’s, including Texas, where the 2,166 coronavirus patients hospitalized on Friday were the most yet in the state.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
“We can’t control whether they’re coming in from hot spots,†Ms. Keith said. “This is not about politics. This is about the insanity of our numbers.â€
The state’s Republican governor has tried to get Trump and Pence to move the rally to a large outdoor venue, but Trump doesn’t want to make any concessions to the reality of the pandemic, so he is refusing to make any changes to the planned event.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is on a national pandemic lying tour, said that hand sanitizer and masks would be available along with temperature checks, but none of those measures will be required. There will be no mandatory masks and social distancing.
Experts are warning that the virus is going to be at the rally and that Trump is setting up a mass infection event in Tulsa, but nobody in the Republican Party is brave enough to shut Trump down.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
