President Trump brushed off criticism over a plan to bring back his campaign rallies as many states across the country are beginning to dig themselves out of a monthslong quarantine.
Tweeting on Monday, Trump attacked the “far left” media for their tacit approval of massive protests across the country while simultaneously condemning his campaign team for restarting in-person rallies as some states see an uptick in coronavirus cases.
“The Far Left Fake News Media, which had no Covid problem with the Rioters & Looters destroying Democrat run cities, is trying to Covid Shame us on our big Rallies,” Trump tweeted. “Won’t work!”
The Far Left Fake News Media, which had no Covid problem with the Rioters & Looters destroying Democrat run cities, is trying to Covid Shame us on our big Rallies. Won’t work!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2020
The protests began after the death in police custody of George Floyd on Memorial Day. In some instances, video and images appear to show demonstrators not adhering to social distancing practices, but of the media coverage about the protests have been focused on the message of the protests, combating police brutality and systemic racism, and violent offshoots.
During the same period, media outlets have criticized the president for attempting to hold in-person rallies for the first time in months.
In one example, NBC News failed to mention the coronavirus in a tweet showing a huge crowd in Brooklyn supporting “Black trans lives,” but an hour later cited “health experts” questioning Trump’s decision to hold campaign rallies amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Little over an hour apart. pic.twitter.com/K2a7fGRNDd
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) June 15, 2020
Trump’s campaign pushed back the date of an upcoming rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after being criticized for selecting Friday, a say which some consider to be a holiday celebrating the end of slavery in Texas, in a place where one of the deadliest race riots took place nearly a century ago.
Still, the change in date has done little to scuttle interest from supporters as more than 1 million ticket requests were processed, according to the Trump campaign.
“Almost One Million people request tickets for the Saturday Night Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma!” added Trump in a tweet Monday.
