President Trump has moved his plan to Tulsa, Oklahoma, one day out of “respect” for Juneteenth, he tweeted on Friday night.
The rally campaign, originally scheduled for a holiday on Friday, June 19, will now be held on Saturday, June 20.
The original date falls “on Juneteenth Holiday,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets. “Many of my African-American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date to honor this holiday, and by paying attention to this important opportunity and all that it represents.”
Juneteenth marked the day when news that President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas, the last state where slaves knew of their freedom.
News of the demonstrations has angered Democrats for promising many people during the coronavirus pandemic and planned for Juneteenth, even as Trump described George Floyd’s protesters across the country as “criminals,” “anarchists” and “domestic terrorists.”
The location of the rally also annoys the opponent.
Tulsa in 1921 was the site where white mobs attacked black residents and their homes and businesses in the historic part of the city known as “Black Wall Street.” Hundreds of residents were killed and thousands more displaced.
The president said his campaign registered more than 200,000 ticket requests for the event, its first rally since the coronavirus pandemic. Supporters who attend the event must first sign a disclaimer that bears all responsibility if they catch COVID-19.
In an Oval Office interview last month, Trump told The Post that he saw the demonstration as important to his campaign, saying that he would be at a “big disadvantage” if COVID-19 prevented a rally before Election Day in November.
“I hope we can get a demonstration back before the election. I think it’s very important,” Trump said in the interview.
