Donald Trump designs his campaign events for maximum confusion and maximum conflict. And Trump is getting exactly what he wants in Tulsa where his supporters are having a blast being racist, joking about an ongoing pandemic by wearing diapers, and pushing police to arrest a brave, peaceful protester for the crime of wearing an incorrect shirt.
In the sweaty crowd whose appearance Trump has engineered by over-distributing free tickets to a first-come first-serve event, masks are about as rare as Black faces and COVID-deniers are everywhere. But so is the virus that kills one in twenty people it infects. That includes six members of Trump’s campaign staff who tested positive in advance of the Rally.
The Trump campaign has now released a statement saying that following the positive results on six staffers involved in setting up for the Saturday night rally, "quarantine procedures were immediately implemented.” The campaign also insists that “No COVID-positive staffers” will be present at the rally. Of course, the statement doesn’t say that all staffers have been tested, and certainly the people gathering outside to pretend that COVID-19 doesn’t exist aren’t about to be tested.
Meanwhile, local woman Sheila Buck—who signed up for and received a ticket to the event—had the audacity to enter the area around the arena wearing an “I can’t breathe” T-shirt. After being confronted by campaign staffers, none of whom were wearing a mask, Buck sat down and refused to leave the area. Staffers continued to harass Buck, shouting at her that she was “uninvited” and attempting to get between her and news crews seeking to ask her questions. Finally, Tulsa police dragged Buck away on charges of “trespassing,” which … they should have a fun time explaining.
And some Republicans from Oklahoma have a message to welcome Trump to town.