Sick staff and empty seats: how Trump's return to the campaign went from bad to worse

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Trump said he asked to delay testing of covid-19 2:15

(CNN) –– By the time President Donald Trump was riding his helicopter to Andrews Air Force Base this Saturday, bound for what he once hoped would be his triumphant return and fully attended the election campaign, the things were already wrong.

Reviewing the news coverage earlier in the day, Trump was disappointed when he saw images of the massive lines outside the Oklahoma Bank Center in Tulsa, but of Geoffrey Berman, the federal prosecutor whom Trump's attorney general tried to expel the The night before, a person familiar with his reaction said.

• READ: Who is Geoffrey Berman, the powerful United States Attorney who refuses to resign under pressure from Attorney General William Barr?

Hours later, the president was informed that six campaign employees in Tulsa tested positive for coronaviruses before their arrival, an unfortunate reminder of the current pandemic that Trump critics say he is ignoring. After initially dismissing the revelation, a source familiar with his response indicated that Trump exploded when the news was later reported in the media and shifted coverage of the rally itself.

Still, a certain Trump intended to breathe new life into his shocking campaign. He went to Tulsa, convinced that large groups of his followers would be waiting for him there.

Things did not improve once Air Force One took off. The president received a report that only about 25 people gathered in the extra space that the campaign had reserved outside for a crowd, which Trump said five days earlier that he would exceed 40,000 people.

Two hours before the rally began, those who signed up to receive tickets received an urgent text message from the Trump campaign: "The Great Celebration of the American Return is almost here!" it was read in the communication. "There is still room!"

When Trump landed in Tulsa at 5:51 pm local time, the crowds his assistants had promised him did not materialize. Air Force One flew over the event site, where Trump had been told that thousands of followers would be waiting to hear from him before entering, but there was nothing like the sea of ​​people he had been waiting for.

While on the air, the campaign had canceled its appearance abroad given the apparent lack of enthusiasm.

Although it was once seen within the White House and the Trump campaign as a reset button for a presidency surrounded by crisis and self-inflicted wounds, in reality the election rally on Saturday night in Tulsa was riddled with obstacles and was a microcosm Disappointing of the blind spots, denial and illusions that have come to guide the President as he enters one of the most precarious moments of his first term.

By the time Trump stepped out to Lee Greenwood on Saturday night, in front of the partially filled Bank of Oklahoma Center, the event had already gone from being a triumphant return to the election campaign - after a forced absence 110 days from the pandemic–– to something completely different. The attempted new assault on former Vice President Joe Biden was quenched and replaced by recycled complaints and racial harassment. The sparse crowd was a reminder that many Americans, including Trump supporters, continue to be wary of a pandemic that remains in places like Oklahoma, where cases are increasing, even if the president is ready to move on.

Attendees eagerly awaited his reaction to less-than-stellar participation, aware that he has in the past threatened to fire officials when his rallies ended in disappointment.

"You are warriors. We had some really bad people outside. They were doing bad things. But I really appreciate it, ”Trump told his crowd, seeming to explain that the empty seats were the result of“ thugs ”outside the venue, despite CNN teams on the ground saying they saw no violence or people blocking the entrances.

• READ: TikTok users play tricks on the Trump campaign in Tulsa

After a nearly two-hour speech, highlighted mainly by his discursiveness, Trump left Tulsa on Saturday night after spending about three hours in the city. The six staff members who tested positive for coronavirus remained in their quarantined hotel rooms.

Disappointment in planning

Almost from the moment the word "Tulsa" came out of Trump's mouth two weeks ago, things seemed to start to get complicated.

First there was the problem with the date of the rally, which the president reluctantly changed after learning it coincided with Juneteenth, the day that marks the end of slavery in the United States. The new space, he complained, would attract fewer viewers.

Then there was the place, which Trump did not see as a problem despite the fact that many others around him were wary of irritating a city with a violent history of racism in the midst of national racial unrest.

The notion of gathering supporters within a crowded setting amid a resurgence of coronavirus cases was always going to be a problem, but half a dozen campaign employees who tested positive was a setback that Trump had not anticipated when he insisted where a rally would be included on their agenda.

In mid-May, Trump had begun questioning attendees about when he could return to campaign events that have long been one of the few aspects he enjoys being a politician.

Confined to the White House for months, amid a pandemic that caused the economy to freeze, which was once strong, Trump repeatedly called for a rally to be put on the calendar, even as public health officials warned against large meetings .

For weeks, Trump's requests for a rally were deferred or slowly advanced, with health warnings as justification. While the government's top public health experts, including Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, did not specifically influence the campaign events, their views on the resumption of large gatherings were well known among Trump employees.

But as large protests began to form after the death of George Floyd - the black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck - the arguments against calling a rally seemed more difficult to raise. , especially the president, who said if the protesters could gather in large numbers, his supporters could as well.

Given the fact that Trump was more determined than ever to return to the election stage, his main campaign team set about identifying a place that could guarantee a large crowd and provide a cooperating governor and mayor to allow a large gathering of people. –– potentially in an indoor space–– to proceed, despite continued warnings against such events by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• READ: Evidence of covid-19, DACA, Confederate monuments and more: the key points of Trump's intervention in Tulsa

Tulsa appeared at first glance to adjust to these conditions. Oklahoma had experienced a relatively low number of coronavirus infections, and attracting a large crowd in the deeply Republican state did not appear to be a problem.

Although many of the president's allies believed that he should focus only on those states that he won in 2016, but now appears to be at risk of losing - like Michigan, Arizona, Florida, and several others - Oklahoma seemed like a safer bet. for a rally that was quickly assuming great importance, both in the west wing and at the campaign headquarters.

While Trump formally launched his campaign a year ago in Orlando, he began telling people in recent weeks that the Tulsa event was the "real launch." He reasoned that his abysmal survey numbers were due only to blockages by the coronavirus, and repeatedly stated that he has not yet been trying to compete against Biden.

The rally came the same day that the Trump campaign announced that it had raised $ 74 million in May along with the Republican National Committee, $ 7 million less than Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised.

Back to normal

For many aides, especially those who worked on the 2016 president's campaign, the rally was seen as a return to normality after what has been one of its toughest stretches in the Trump presidency.

"The rally is a great signal to the rest of the country that it is time to get things moving again," Tim Murtaugh, Trump's director of campaign communications, told CNN last week. "Americans will now see the contrast between the president's record of achievement versus the story of failure that Biden brings to the table," he added.

But almost as soon as Trump announced his rally from the Cabinet Room of the White House –– “in a beautiful and new place, completely new, and we are eager,” he said at the time - the problems began.

According to the recommendation of the lawyers, the campaign implemented a disclaimer in the online registration form for potential attendees, in which it warned “you and any guest voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to covid-19 "

Neither Trump nor his campaign aides knew that the date they had chosen for the rally coincided with Juneteenth. Even after the commemoration was signaled, some of Trump's campaign aides and White House staff downplayed any issues, insisting that it was not unusual to hold campaign events on holidays.

But this June 19 was not like that of previous years. Amid a national flow of pain and anger after Floyd's death, the memorial day had taken on special meaning to highlight the country's racist history, as millions continue to protest the legacy of history and the consequences that still exist.

After a black Secret Service agent explained the importance of the date to the president - and after Trump probed his orbit to find that no one had heard of Juneteenth - the president began to consider changing the date. He also listened directly to Senator James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, who told him that a change of date would be prudent.

Trump agreed, but told his campaign advisers to schedule the rally the day before Juneteenth, on a Thursday, instead of moving the event to the next day, Saturday. The president explained that Saturday nights were void in the television audience and that he wanted a massive audience in his first campaign appearance in months.

• LEE: Trump threatens protesters before his campaign event in Tulsa

But, Trump's aides convinced him that one weekend would draw a bigger crowd because prospective attendees wouldn't be working. And the campaign announced that it was exploring outdoor venues to accommodate an overwhelmed audience that couldn't fit inside the Bank of Oklahoma Center, with a capacity of 19,000 people.

Consumed

Over the past week, the rally has consumed Trump's attention, according to people familiar with the matter. The president invited the Oklahoma governor to the White House on Thursday for a round table discussion that was also a place where the president promoted his event.

"We are going to be in Oklahoma. And it will be a crowd like, I guess, no one has seen before. We have tremendous, tremendous requests for tickets like, I think, has probably never happened politically before, ”Trump said. Later, during the same event, the President appeared to be idly checking his phone as two female business owners detailed their experience during the pandemic.

On Friday, with no events on his agenda, Trump appeared to be focused on the following day's rally. He threatened potential protesters via Twitter, assuring that they would not receive friendly treatment if they attended his event. Upon learning that there would be a curfew on the three nights surrounding the event, Trump telephoned the Tulsa mayor to protest. He then tweeted that the mayor had agreed to suspend the curfew for supporters who were camping outside.

When he woke up this Saturday, Trump was excited about the night to come. But he was annoyed when he turned on his television and saw that the news coverage was not of massive crowds but of Berman, whose dismissal that Trump did not anticipate would generate controversy and whose refusal to leave prevented the attention of the approaching rally.

Hours later, when Vice President Mike Pence was stopped on his way to Tulsa by lightning storms covering Andrews Air Force Base, Trump learned about the six employees who tested positive for coronavirus as they advanced toward the President's rally. Initially, the campaign had no plans to pre-evaluate staff unless they were expected to come into contact with the president, the vice president or one of his sons, and they did not consider revealing that several staff members had tested positive. But the news leaked and several members of the campaign learned of the cases through media reports, one of those officials told CNN.

Trump was enraged when several people in the campaign were reported to have tested positive, believing that - like Berman - that was dwarfing his event, the person added. As he left the White House for Tulsa, the jubilant resumption of the rallies was already turning to resentment.

If there was a flash of light, it was the crowd.

“The event in Oklahoma is incredible. The crowds are incredible. They have not seen anything like it, "Trump said when leaving in the city of Washington.

But in Tulsa, it was a different story. The wide avenue where a stage had been erected for an overflowing crowd of thousands was practically empty, and speeches planned there by Trump and Pence were canceled. Inside, the event venue was only partially full when the President was already arriving.

Murtaugh claimed the smaller-than-expected crowds were in part the result of the protesters' interference, although none of the reporters and producers for CNN in Tulsa saw any incidents with protesters trying to block the attendance of supporters.

Ultimately, Trump aides said Tulsa was about something far more important than simple politicking; After a sad period, the event was intended to provide Trump with the flattery he craves and to revitalize him after weeks of slumping in polls and critical media coverage.

Trump told staff he wanted to have all of his substitutes available when he landed in Tulsa on Saturday night, so attendees invited dozens and chartered a private jet to transport them all. Flight photos show that none wear masks.

"I guarantee that after Saturday, if everything goes well, he will be in a better mood," said a Trump political adviser. "He believes he needs to be fighting and he feeds off the energy of the crowds," he added.

After Trump finished speaking, a close person told CNN that two Secret Service agents had also tested positive for coronavirus.

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