Do You Want To Catch The Coronavirus? No Guaranatees But You Could Probably Catch It In Tulsa On June 20

Tulsa is Oklahoma's second largest city with around 400,000 people and close to a million in the Tulsa metro area. It's the county seat of Tulsa County and extends into Osage, Rogers and Wagoner counties. If everything goes wrong for Trump-- as it appears to be now-- he's still going to win the 4 Confederate states Strom Thurmond won in 1948 + Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota and Oklahoma. Oklahoma was Trump's third best-performing state in the 2016 election-- 65.32%. The Tulsa area-- minus the city itself (which was plenty Trumpy)-- was even Trumpier than the rest of the state:

• Osage- 66.31%
• Rogers- 75.65%
• Tulsa- 58.39%
• Wagoner- 73.50%

By way of comparison, Trump's worst-performing county in the state was Oklahoma County, where he beat Hillary 141,569 (51.68%) to 112,813 (41.18%). In other words, the state is a red hellhole and the Tulsa area is redder than the state in general.

The coronavirus pandemic is expanding in Oklahoma-- and Tulsa is even worse off than Oklahoma City. The cases per 100,000 statewide is 204. It is 200 per 100,000 in Oklahoma County and 237 per 100,000 in Tulsa County. Tulsa County has the highest number of cases in the state, 1,525. Wagoner and Osage counties in the Tulsa metro also have more cases per 100,000 than the statewide average.

So, crackpot narcissist Trump picked Tulsa's Bank of Oklahoma Center (BOK Center) arena for these its of his first "post"-COVID mass rally. An indoor arena and home of the Tulsa Oilers (an ice hockey team), it has 19,199 seats. The last big shows before the shutdown were Chance the Rapper, KISS and Tool. Among the events cancelled were the Black Crowes, Bon Jovi, Justin Bieber, and Tame Impala. Currently on the arena's schedule are Joe Rogan (Sept. 12), Vampire Weekend (Sept. 30), Def Leppard & ZZ Top (Oct. 3) and... Señor Trumpanzee and the MAGA Rally, June 20.

He was probably lying, but Trumpanzee campaign manager Brad Pascale claimed on Twitter over the weekend that they've "passed 800,000 tickets." I hope they don't jam them all into the arena because there are only 37 public restrooms and even in the best of circumstances, there are long lines... and folks urinating in places they shouldn't be.

Why go to all the trouble? Trump's going to win Oklahoma's 7 electoral votes anyway (and landslide majorities in the Tulsa metro). Well... this rally is just to make him feel good after all the bad polling from normal states lately. AP reputed that "health experts question the decision, citing the danger of infection spreading among the crowd and sparking outbreaks when people return to their homes. The Trump campaign itself acknowledges the risk in a waiver attendees must agree to absolving them of any responsibility should people get sick... Scientists believe the virus spreads far more easily in crowded enclosed spaces than it does outdoors, where circulating air has a better chance of dispersing virus particles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines the highest risk events for transmission of the coronavirus this way: 'Large in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and attendees travel from outside the local area.' The CDC recommends cloth masks in places where people might shout or chant."

Citing the spike in cases, Bruce Dart, executive director of the Tulsa Health Department, said he wished the rally would postponed to a later date “when the virus isn’t as large a concern as it is today.”

“I think it’s an honor for Tulsa to have a sitting president want to come and visit our community, but not during a pandemic,” Dart said in an interview Saturday with the Tulsa World. “I’m concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, and I’m also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well.”

Dart said the risk of spreading the virus increases with higher numbers of people congregating for longer periods of time.

Oklahoma health authorities said that anyone who attends a large public event should get tested for COVID-19 shortly afterward.

Shelley Payne, director of the LaMontagne Center for Infectious Disease at the University of Texas at Austin, said the Trump rally meets every criteria for the riskiest type of event.

“I would certainly recommend that people wear masks and try to keep as much distance as possible,” Payne said.

Julie Fischer, an associate research professor of microbiology and immunology at Georgetown University, said the event could have wide repercussions for the country.

“With a little bad luck, that scenario could end in the seeding of community outbreaks of COVID-19 across the U.S.,” she said.

The Trump campaign has declined to respond to repeated questions about whether it will require attendees to wear masks, socially distance or take other measures to reduce the risk of virus transmission.

Trump has made clear that he believes empty seats are bad optics. “I can’t imagine a rally where you have every fourth seat full. Every-- every six seats are empty for every one that you have full. That wouldn’t look too good,” he said in April.

...Trump has been eager to resume the rallies that are the centerpiece of his campaign. The president revels in his large crowds. The events let him vent and gauge the kind of rhetoric that will appeal to his ardent political base. They also help his campaign expand its voter databases and will serve as a contrast to Democratic challenger Biden, who has suspended campaign events because of the virus and hasn’t attracted the same size of crowds.

But the decision to pull the trigger now was driven, in large part, by the mass anti-racism protests that have taken place across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. Campaign and White House officials say the protests-- and the limited public health outcry they generated-- gave them cover. If it was OK for tens of thousands of people to march through the streets, demanding racial justice, why can’t Trump rally his supporters, too?

Of course, the protests were held outside, with many participants wearing masks.

“Any large gathering, whether of protesters or ralliers, is dangerous,” Jha said. But infection is less likely at an outdoors moving march than at a crowded event in an enclosed space, he said, citing the air flow.

The Trump campaign, in recognition of the risk, has tried to protect itself from lawsuits with waiver language on its registration website.

“By clicking register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present,” the campaign advised those signing up for the rally. “By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.” liable for illness or injury.

This morning, the biggest newspaper in eastern Oklahoma, the Tulsa World, published an editorial: This is the wrong time and Tulsa is the wrong place for the Trump rally. "Tulsa," wrong the editors, "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. There is no treatment for COVID-19 and no vaccine. It will be our health care system that will have to deal with whatever effects follow... There’s no reason to think a Trump appearance in Tulsa will have any effect on November’s election outcome in Tulsa or Oklahoma. It has already concentrated the world’s attention of the fact that Trump will be rallying in a city that 99 years ago was the site of a bloody race massacre. This is the wrong place for the rally. 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."

Note to potential widows: if your husband goes and contracts COVID-19 and gives it to your children and parents and then he and they all die, you are not bound by the waver and you can sue Trump and the BOK Center. Also, if you go to the rally dressed like this, you will probably be safe. (On CNN's State of the Union yesterday, James Lankford confirmed he's attending the Tulsa Hate Fest but refused to confirm whether or not he'll be wearing a mask. Ever the leader-of-men, Lankford told Jake Tapper that "You see actually very few masks in Oklahoma now. There are still some that use masks. But we encourage people strongly if they’re high-risk individuals, if they’re older individuals, if they have other health issues not to get out even with a mask." Lankford was either consciously lying or incredibly stupid when he told Tapper how great Oklahoma is doing. It isn't. The How We Open Safely website ranks Oklahoma as one of the worst states, not one of the best nor even trending well. The increase in cases over the last two weeks was an astounding 128%, which practically makes Lankford's comments on CNN yesterday criminal! And as far as Intensive Care Unit availability Oklahoma's is dangerously low (35%) and the state is only testing 60% of the U.S. daily recommendation.