SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on December 10, 2019 at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Lev Radin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
'We Can't See Any Way His Visit Will Be Good for the City': Largest Tulsa Newspaper Says Trump Not Welcome
"Tulsa is still dealing with the challenges created by a pandemic. The city and state have authorized reopening, but that doesn't make a mass indoor gathering of people pressed closely together and cheering a good idea."
Jun 15, 2020
The editorial board of Tulsa, Oklahoma's largest daily newspaper on Monday slammed President Donald Trump's planned June 20 campaign rally as a poorly timed and badly located event that risks undermining the city's fight against Covid-19 and dangerously inflaming street protests over police brutality.
"Tulsa is still dealing with the challenges created by a pandemic," reads an editorial published Monday in the Tulsa World. "The city and state have authorized reopening, but that doesn't make a mass indoor gathering of people pressed closely together and cheering a good idea. There is no treatment for Covid-19 and no vaccine. It will be our healthcare system that will have to deal with whatever effects follow."
"There is no treatment for Covid-19 and no vaccine. It will be our healthcare system that will have to deal with whatever effects follow."
--Tulsa World editorial board
"We don't know why he chose Tulsa," the editorial states, "but we can't see any way that his visit will be good for the city."
The president's campaign rally was initially scheduled to take place on Juneteenth--the June 19 holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States--but Trump pushed the rally back by one day in the face of widespread backlash.
The Tulsa World editorial came just days after the director of the city's health department called on Trump to postpone the rally "to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today."
"Covid is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently," said Dr. Bruce Dart.
The Trump campaign effectively acknowledged that the event poses a significant public health risk by requiring prospective attendees to sign a waiver vowing not to sue if they contract Covid-19 at the rally.
In addition to criticizing the hazardous timing of the campaign event, the Tulsa World editorial board also noted that "Trump will be rallying in a city that 99 years ago was the site of a bloody race massacre."
"Tulsa and the nation remain on edge after the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Trump, a divisive figure, will attract protests, the vast majority of which we expect to be peaceful. But there may also be confrontation and inappropriate behavior from some," the editorial reads. "Again, Tulsa will be largely alone in dealing with what happens at a time when the city's budget resources have already been stretched thin."
"This is the wrong place for the rally," the editorial states in closing. "When the president of the United States visits your city, it should be exciting. We think a Trump visit will be, but for a lot of the wrong reasons, and we can't welcome it."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The editorial board of Tulsa, Oklahoma's largest daily newspaper on Monday slammed President Donald Trump's planned June 20 campaign rally as a poorly timed and badly located event that risks undermining the city's fight against Covid-19 and dangerously inflaming street protests over police brutality.
"Tulsa is still dealing with the challenges created by a pandemic," reads an editorial published Monday in the Tulsa World. "The city and state have authorized reopening, but that doesn't make a mass indoor gathering of people pressed closely together and cheering a good idea. There is no treatment for Covid-19 and no vaccine. It will be our healthcare system that will have to deal with whatever effects follow."
"There is no treatment for Covid-19 and no vaccine. It will be our healthcare system that will have to deal with whatever effects follow."
--Tulsa World editorial board
"We don't know why he chose Tulsa," the editorial states, "but we can't see any way that his visit will be good for the city."
The president's campaign rally was initially scheduled to take place on Juneteenth--the June 19 holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States--but Trump pushed the rally back by one day in the face of widespread backlash.
The Tulsa World editorial came just days after the director of the city's health department called on Trump to postpone the rally "to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today."
"Covid is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently," said Dr. Bruce Dart.
The Trump campaign effectively acknowledged that the event poses a significant public health risk by requiring prospective attendees to sign a waiver vowing not to sue if they contract Covid-19 at the rally.
In addition to criticizing the hazardous timing of the campaign event, the Tulsa World editorial board also noted that "Trump will be rallying in a city that 99 years ago was the site of a bloody race massacre."
"Tulsa and the nation remain on edge after the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Trump, a divisive figure, will attract protests, the vast majority of which we expect to be peaceful. But there may also be confrontation and inappropriate behavior from some," the editorial reads. "Again, Tulsa will be largely alone in dealing with what happens at a time when the city's budget resources have already been stretched thin."
"This is the wrong place for the rally," the editorial states in closing. "When the president of the United States visits your city, it should be exciting. We think a Trump visit will be, but for a lot of the wrong reasons, and we can't welcome it."
The editorial board of Tulsa, Oklahoma's largest daily newspaper on Monday slammed President Donald Trump's planned June 20 campaign rally as a poorly timed and badly located event that risks undermining the city's fight against Covid-19 and dangerously inflaming street protests over police brutality.
"Tulsa is still dealing with the challenges created by a pandemic," reads an editorial published Monday in the Tulsa World. "The city and state have authorized reopening, but that doesn't make a mass indoor gathering of people pressed closely together and cheering a good idea. There is no treatment for Covid-19 and no vaccine. It will be our healthcare system that will have to deal with whatever effects follow."
"There is no treatment for Covid-19 and no vaccine. It will be our healthcare system that will have to deal with whatever effects follow."
--Tulsa World editorial board
"We don't know why he chose Tulsa," the editorial states, "but we can't see any way that his visit will be good for the city."
The president's campaign rally was initially scheduled to take place on Juneteenth--the June 19 holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States--but Trump pushed the rally back by one day in the face of widespread backlash.
The Tulsa World editorial came just days after the director of the city's health department called on Trump to postpone the rally "to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today."
"Covid is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently," said Dr. Bruce Dart.
The Trump campaign effectively acknowledged that the event poses a significant public health risk by requiring prospective attendees to sign a waiver vowing not to sue if they contract Covid-19 at the rally.
In addition to criticizing the hazardous timing of the campaign event, the Tulsa World editorial board also noted that "Trump will be rallying in a city that 99 years ago was the site of a bloody race massacre."
"Tulsa and the nation remain on edge after the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Trump, a divisive figure, will attract protests, the vast majority of which we expect to be peaceful. But there may also be confrontation and inappropriate behavior from some," the editorial reads. "Again, Tulsa will be largely alone in dealing with what happens at a time when the city's budget resources have already been stretched thin."
"This is the wrong place for the rally," the editorial states in closing. "When the president of the United States visits your city, it should be exciting. We think a Trump visit will be, but for a lot of the wrong reasons, and we can't welcome it."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.