President Trump said he is not concerned about the threat of the coronavirus spreading at his upcoming rally because he believes the virus is “dying out.”
Trump said he chose to host his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, because there has not been a major coronavirus outbreak in the state. He told Full Court Press Wednesday that he believes that the rally should take place despite an uptick in COVID-19 cases in 22 states.
“If you look, the numbers are very minuscule compared to what it was. It’s dying out. By the way, we’re doing very well in vaccines and therapeutics also — I think there’s going to be some big announcements on that in the not-too-distant future. But no, we’re not concerned,” the president said. “Actually, Oklahoma has had a very low rate, relatively speaking. It is a little spike, a small spike for a specific reason.”
Trump noted that the campaign had seen interest from nearly 1 million people who wish to attend the rally. He said his campaign is working to make sure those who do make it into the rally are safe.
“We’ll go there. Everyone is going to be safe,” he said. “They have to be safe. They want to be safe. We’re doing temperature checks. We’re doing a lot of different things where, I think, we’re giving out face masks. We’re doing a lot of things. But Oklahoma, one of the reasons we chose it is they’ve been very low in terms of, and they’ve done a really fantastic job. The governor has done a fantastic job.”
Oklahoma is among the 22 states experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases. Other states include Texas, Florida, and Arizona. Most of the states experiencing an uptick in cases now had a much milder outbreak earlier this year, while states such as New York suffered significant losses. Many of the states with coronavirus spikes have begun to reopen.
The United States has lost 117,783 people to the coronavirus since the pandemic began.
