Due to the restrictions and economic chaos surrounding the pandemic, the negative effects of COVID-19 go far beyond the illness itself. Still, for one person "the bad part" of the pandemic may be something you wouldn't expect" testing.
"Here's the bad part: When you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people, you're going to find more cases," United States President Donald Trump said at his rally on Saturday. "So I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please.'"
Trump's administration has since called the remarks "tongue in cheek", but many argue that the pandemic is hardly a joking matter. Cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. have now reached 120,000. This also isn't the first time Trump has complained about how rising case numbers make him look bad, and he's previously called testing "overrated".
Despite the fact that cases are still growing across the country, the Trump campaign decided to hold a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday.
The Risks of the Rally
This rally was a dangerous proposition from the start. There are characteristics of Trump rallies that make them particularly dangerous places to be during a coronavirus pandemic: these events often draw tens of thousands of individuals, many of whom are elderly, into hot arenas to yell and chant. Shouting, in particular, could render masks useless, according to medical experts, and that's assuming masks will even be worn. There were no mask requirements at the event, and ABC News reports there was no social distancing to speak of.
"I'm really very concerned about this event being a super-spreader-type event where there will be potentially many people coming out of this who were exposed and could become sick from COVID-19," said Dr. Lena Wen, former physician and health professor at George Washington University.
Another risk of these events, travel, was further exacerbated by the Trump campaign. Leading up to the event, ads were run throughout Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Arizona encouraging Americans to travel to Tulsa for the rally. Another neighboring state of Oklahoma, Texas, has reported increasing cases of COVID-19 in the midst of reopening. Trump rallies often draw many people from surrounding states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has specifically stated that travel can increase the chance you will contract the virus.
Speaking of the CDC, the agency has recommended against large gatherings, citing the risk of major spreading events. In the Whitehouse's own recommendations to state, large gatherings are only to be allowed in the third stage of reopening after two weeks of declining numbers and once "robust" testing is made available. Tulsa reported record high cases in the days leading up to and the day of the event itself. Testing is still sparse in the area. In fact, the venue itself has stopped holding events until July.
"In an abundance of caution our box office will be closed until further notice," the venue's pre-recorded voice system says when reached by phone by ABC News on Tuesday. "The health and safety of our guests and employees is our highest priority."
The campaign also seemed to recognize the danger of the event, though that didn't stop them from holding it. Instead, attendees were required to sign a disclaimer before they could enter the event.
"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.; BOK Center; ASM Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury," the disclaimer attendees were required to sign reads.
Leading up to the event, Trump and his supporters repeatedly pointed to the Black Lives Matter protests as a defense of the decision to hold the Oklahoma rally. However, this what-about-ism defense is flawed for several reasons: first, one risky situation is hardly cause to bring about another risky situation. Second, indoor rallies are considerably more dangerous than open-air protests where spreading is less likely and social distancing is easier. Third, people are less likely to travel long distances to attend protests.
Finally, one clear sign that this rally may have been a bad idea was the fact that 6 members of Trump's Tulsa team tested positive for COVID-19 in the days leading up to the event. Trump was reportedly furious that such information had been available to the public asking why it had been exposed ahead of this potential mega-rally.
A Failed Rally: The Turnout
Despite expectations held by the campaign that there would be massive attendance at the Saturday rally, the event failed to come close to filling the 19,000-person capacity venue in which it was held. News of the poor turnout at the Oklahoma rally quickly spread across the U.S. after Trump decided to cancel an address scheduled to be given to the overflow crowds that never showed. One local official told CNN that they had expected 100,000 attendees, while the Whitehouse's estimates were even more extravagant.
"Almost One Million people requested tickets for the Saturday Night Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma!" Trump tweeted in the days leading up to the rally.
In the end, only 6,200 people attended. So, if Trump expected nearly one million attendees, why did less than 10,000 show up? It depends on who you ask.
According to the Trump campaign, people didn't show up because of fears over the coronavirus and violent protests, but this doesn't seem to fully explain the massive discrepancy. One explanation involves an unlikely force: TikTok creators. In the weeks leading up the rally, TikTokers took to the app to call for people to RSVP for the event without showing up in order to inflate the numbers.
"All of those of us that want to see this 19,000 seat auditorium barely filled or completely empty go reserve tickets now and leave him standing alone there on the stage," one 51-year-old user believed to have started the movement told her followers.
Soon, K-pop fans, a massive and powerful force on the internet, joined in the effort, as well. Soon, the movement had spread to Instagram and other platforms. Many recorded themselves RSVPing for the rally, and these posts racked up thousands of likes.
Trump and his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, have both denied the role of TikTok creators in the failure that was the Oklahoma rally. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other political actors on both sides of the aisle took to Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) to congratulate the users of TikTok on besting the Trump campaign.
Trump has admitted that claiming he expected nearly one million attendees may have been a mistake, but much of the blame has fallen on Parscale who aggressively bragged about the registration numbers leading up to the rally.
The long term effects of the decision to hold this rally despite a global pandemic have yet to be seen. Events such as this involving many people congregating in close proximity can be super-spreaders, leading to huge numbers of people contracting and spreading the virus in one place. Time will show if this rally was such a super-spreader event.