Trump Campaign Claims ‘Tens Of Thousands’ Of TikTokers And K-Pop Stans Used ‘Bogus Numbers’ To Register For Tulsa Rally

TOPLINE

The Trump campaign on Sunday morning released a statement claiming “tens of thousands” of Tiktok teens and K-Pop stans used “bogus numbers” to register for Trump’s rally in Tulsa, with the intention of ensuring empty seats, and arguing that such efforts did not deny anyone seating.

KEY FACTS

Chief Critic 

Journalist Yashar Ali argued one of the campaign’s big follies was publicizing the registration numbers. “Think about it. If you intend to go to a rally for a candidate of your choice but you keep hearing that 800,000 people have reserved tickets,” he tweeted. “Would you still want to go? 800,000 for 19,000 capacity?”

Key Background

The rally has been marred by controversy since it was first announced, both for the fact that it was originally planned on Juneteenth, a holiday of great significance to Black Americans, and due to the dire public health implications of a large indoor rally during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Public health experts, including some from the Trump administration, had warned against the rally. Several announcements on Saturday including that six Trump staffers working on the rally tested positive for coronavirus, and that Tulsa County reported its highest number of cases ever, seemed to confirm those fears.

Big Number

73%. As Ali noted, fears about coronavirus was likely another culprit for the low turnout. A Fox News poll released on Friday found that 73% of Republicans say they are somewhat or very concerned about the virus. Still, that’s less than the 93% of Democrats and 86% of independents who said the same.

What To Look For

While the turnout was low, photos of the event showed crowds of thousands tightly packed together, with many rally-goers not wearing masks, more than enough to become a super-spreading event. With cases already on the rise in Tulsa, the region could be in for an even larger surge of the virus.