Trump supporters are already waiting in line outside the 19,000-seat BOK center to guarantee entrance to Saturday's MAGA rally.
Over 1 million tickets have been requested for Trump's first rally since COVID-19 swept the nation.
Tulsa, which has a population of 400,000, is already being inundated with Trump supporters who are traveling to the city for the opportunity to hear the president speak live.
Now, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said that he is looking for a larger venue, outdoors if possible, for the MAGA rally.
According to Stitt, his search comes after he spoke with both President Trump and VP Mike Pence.
Stitt is excited to host the first MAGA rally of the season in Oklahoma, but he wants to make sure it's as safe as possible and that as many people can come in as possible.
More details on this breaking development below:
It is unclear what other venues are being considered in Tulsa.
With 2 full more days to go before the rally, the clock is ticking to find a suitable venue and to ensure that the Secret Service can do its job of protecting the president.
Local WUSA 9 CBS News confirms the search by Gov. Ken Stitt for a larger venue:
So many people have expressed an interest in attending President Donald Trump’s rally Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that the governor said he’s asked the campaign to consider a larger, outdoor venue to accommodate them.
Gov. Kevin Stitt said Monday after talking with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that nearly one million people have requested tickets to the event. Some Trump supporters have already started waiting in line outside the 19,000-seat BOK Center in downtown Tulsa.
“We’re excited we’re being recognized as one of the first states to safely and measurably reopen,” Stitt told reporters Monday. “I’m looking for a potential other venue that maybe we could move it outside. It’s still kind of in the works.”
Stitt, who plans to introduce Trump at Saturday’s rally, said he also asked Trump and Pence to join him on a tour of the city’s Greenwood District, once home to a prosperous African American community dubbed Black Wall Street that was burned to the ground during a racially motivated massacre in 1921 that left as many as 300 people dead.
The Trump campaign initially planned to hold the rally on Friday, which is Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States, but agreed to move the date to Saturday at the request of Stitt and others.
The Trump campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they’re considering moving the event to a larger venue, and the White House didn't respond to a request for comment on accepting Stitt’s invitation to tour the Greenwood District.
Health officials, including Tulsa County Health Department Director Bruce Dart, have voiced concerns about having so many people in a confined space, noting both the state and Tulsa have seen daily highs in the number of positive cases in recent days.
Oklahoma County Republican Party Chairman David McLain said Monday that the Trump campaign intends to fill every one of the venue’s seats. He said the campaign also intends to provide masks to every person who attends, although he said there won’t be a requirement to wear one.
Trump has largely remained out of the spotlight during the aftermath of George Floyd's death.
Saturday's MAGA rally will provide Trump the opportunity to speak straight to the American people without the biased filter of the mainstream media.
People are so excited that they began lining up Tuesday morning for Saturday's rally!
Liberals have attempted to stop Trump's MAGA rally on Saturday.
Democrats know how powerful this campaign tool is for President Trump.
After all, if people are willing to wait days to get into a rally, you can guarantee that they'll wait a few minutes to cast a vote in person.
Politico reports that a court order was filed to stop Trump's Tulsa rally, but that a judge rejected the request!
An Oklahoma judge on Tuesday declined to issue a court order to stop a rally for President Donald Trump in Tulsa until the rally's organizers imposed social-distancing guidelines to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Earlier in the day, two Tulsa organizations — The Greenwood Cultural Centre and the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation — along with two immunocompromised residents of the city, had sued the operators of the BOK Center, where the rally is scheduled to take place. The plaintiffs argued that the boisterous rally, with crowds of people yelling in close proximity, would be an incubator for another coronavirus outbreak.
“If ASM Global moves forward with the event without adequate review, planning, training, protective equipment, and safeguards, cases of COVID-19 — and the unavoidable attendant deaths — will rise,” the complaint said, referring to the venue management company.
The plaintiffs asked an Oklahoma court to impose social-distancing requirements for the rally, including the mandatory use of face masks, or else bar the rally until organizers agreed to implement them. But the plaintiffs were notified by phone later in the day that the judge denied their request for an injunction, according to court records.
Oklahoma currently leaves social-distancing guidelines at the discretion of business owners. Sporting venues have been permitted to reopen since May 1. Coronavirus cases have been rising in Tulsa since the beginning of the month, when some lockdown restrictions were lifted.
Meghan Blood, a spokeswoman for the BOK Center, said the venue was following the state‘s regulations for combating the coronavirus pandemic.
“Government officials have advised that the campaign rally as planned is consistent with the guidance for the OURS plan for entertainment venues, however, in the event that the governing authorities impose new restrictions, we will notify the event organizers immediately,“ Blood said in a statement to POLITICO. (OURS is an acronym for Open Up & Recover Safely.)
The Trump campaign already requires attendees to agree not to sue the campaign if they get sick. The campaign manager, Brad Parscale, said attendees would get temperature checks, masks and hand sanitizer before entering the venue.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
If it's safe to protest in the streets, then it's safe to attend a Trump rally!
People have the freedom and the right to openly support the president of the free world!
President Trump's rally is potentially going to be the largest in history with over 1 million tickets reserved.
Compare this to Sleepy Joe, who had trouble filling high school auditoriums during the height of the Democratic primaries.
No wonder the Democratic party is so eager to stop this rally!
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