Trump picks Tulsa for return of signature campaign rallies

President Donald Trump is planning to hold his first rally of coronavirus era on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And he says he’s planning more events in Florida, Texas and Arizona as well. Trump made anuncement as he met with a handful of African American supporters Wednesday afteron for a roundtable discussion.

Trump's signature rallies often draw tens of thousands of people but have been on hiatus since March 2 because of coronavirus pandemic, which has w killed more than 110,000 people in U.S.

“A beautiful new venue, brand new. We’re looking forward to it," Trump said during a White House event. “y’ve done a great job with COVID, as you kw, state of Oklahoma.”

rally will take place on Juneteenth, commemoration of ending of slavery in United States. Tulsa has its own troubling history on race. Its once-thriving African American business community was decimated in 1921, when a racist white mob killed hundreds of black residents. Black residents attempted to rebuild in decades that followed, only to see ir work erased during urban renewal of 1960s.

Trump’s campaign has been er to resume rallies as it tries to move past pandemic, even as cases continue to rise in some parts of country. He has focused most of his rallies this year on battleground states, although Oklahoma is reliably Republican.

Trump carried Oklahoma by more than 36 percent points in 2016, more than doubling vote total of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

Oklahoma was

State health officials say 47 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Tulsa County on Tuesday, most recent county data available. That brought overall total of cases reported to county to 1,308. number of current active cases was put at 274, an 13% increase from Monday. One new death brought county’s COVID-19 death toll to 973.

Campaign officials did t respond to questions about why Tulsa was chosen and what safety precautions would be taken for those who attend.

Trump's reelection prospects will greatly turn on how country grades his administration's response to coronavirus as well as its response to death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody after an officer pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck for more than 8 minutes.

A Trump campaign spokesperson tweeted a movie trailer-style video earlier Wednesday that advertised: “This month we’re back.”