Trump’s recent rally in Tulsa was supposed to augur a new beginning for the president. He wasn’t able to have rallies for the past few months, which was a big cause of concern. A second rally had been scheduled in Alabama for next weekend but the White House has been forced to cancel. The rally was supposed to take place on behalf of Tommy Tuberville.
He’s the Senate primary opponent of Jeff Sessions. We are sure that Sessions is currently breathing a major sigh of relief. White House spokespeople were asked when Trump would be able to return to public speaking engagements and they did not have much of an answer to offer. The question was dodged and from the looks of it, they are going to be pivoting to campaign videos instead.
If you head to the Trump website and take a closer look at the upcoming “Events” page, you will find that all of the meet ups that had been scheduled to take place during the months to come are in the process of being converted to digital hangouts. They are going to be changed into virtual seminars and we are awaiting further details on the matter.
Fox anchor Bill Hemmer: Will there be a rally soon on the president’s schedule?
Trump campaign adviser Mercedes Schlapp: We don’t have an announcement in terms of the future events.
Hemmer: Does this mean rallies will be virtual?
Schlapp: We don’t have an announcement to make. pic.twitter.com/vLhwbcwJtV
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) June 30, 2020
From the looks of it, rallies are finished for the foreseeable future. If we had to take a guess as to why the rallies are done for now, we would have to point to the lackluster attendance at the Tulsa rally. Trump’s ego had to have been bruised by what took place there. The last thing that he wants is to give people the chance to make fun of him for not being able to fill up an arena.
Maybe his base is more terrified of mass gatherings than they initially let on? That could also be a reasonable explanation for their reticence to attend. Now that the news is filled with stories about all of the outbreaks that are taking place in southern states, the Trump base is probably spooked out of the idea of gathering inside of an arena. The positive rate in Alabama has doubled over the course of the past week.
Trump was probably wise to save himself the hassle of dealing with these issues. The supporters are not going to want to risk their health and the detractors cannot wait to crow about his sparse crowds. The press would have a field day and come after him for being willing to endanger everyone’s health for the sake of his own ego.
While there are no rallies scheduled at the moment, the White House aides claim that they are in the process of looking for locations to have another get together soon. They are currently considering outdoor venues and smaller locations. Trump is not the one who seems to have made the final decision, either. He can probably go along with the logic but that does not mean that he is a fan of it.
Trump was slated to travel to [Alabama] ahead of the Senate race between his former attorney general Jeff Sessions and the former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, but plans were called off as state officials voiced concerns about a mass gathering and campaign officials ultimately decided against it. A person close to the campaign said there are currently no rallies on the horizon, but aides are scoping out possible venues for when they decide to host them again…
There had once been plans to announce new rallies shortly after Tulsa, with some of Trump’s aides believing the event would validate their claims of pent-up demand. But instead the opposite occurred and the campaign began to rethink how Trump’s rallies would look going forward, including weighing smaller events or outdoor venues…
Trump had been itching to return to the campaign trail and was personally enthusiastic about the idea of traveling to Alabama days ahead of the Senate race where he’s endorsed his former attorney general’s opponent. He views the rallies as an outlet where he can connect with his supporters in a way that he can’t inside when he’s in Washington and has blamed bad poll numbers on his absence from the campaign trail.
Fortunately for Trump, he will get to scratch his itch for spending time with crowds. The Mount Rushmore 4th of July party is the hottest ticket in the country at the moment. Trump can easily pivot to events like these going forward. As long as people are outdoors and willing to wear their masks, these types of gatherings should not be a major problem. South Dakota health officials remain worried about these gatherings and only time will tell if coronavirus spikes are attributed to the rally.
The Tulsa rally has not led to a coronavirus spike at the moment, so all’s well that ends well. Perhaps the sparse attendance was a blessing in disguise, keeping people safe from themselves. Can you imagine how much worse it could have been if Trump had been able to pack the house like he claimed? The rallies also poll terribly with the general public. Perhaps this is the Trump administration’s chance to turn over a whole new leaf? The coming months will tell the tale.
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