President Donald Trump kicked off his presidential campaign in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a rousing rally that had the crowd on its feet most of his speech. Yet the story for the anti-Trump media is that he didn’t fill up every seat in the 19.000-seat arena, making it out like an abysmal failure. But the truth is that Trump got a phenomenal crowd when you consider how most people have been scared off by the coronavirus AKA SARS-CoV-2 or Covid-19, driving more prudent people to stay at home. But one thing that Trump said at the outset was that the “silent majority,” the same crowd that put President Richard Nixon in office for two terms, would show up when push came to shove. All the anti-Trump media could do was talk about he didn’t fill up every seat in the audience. By anyone’s account, Trump was in top form, something they can’t say about 77-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump raised Biden’s connection to Black Lives Matter, Antifa and other radical groups that have spent the better part of three weeks rioting, looting, arson and anarchy, demanding that the nation’s police departments be de-funded for the deeds of one sick cop in Minneapolis. Trump hit on may familiar themes, including building the wall on the southern border, renegotiating bad trade deals with China, Mexico and the European Union [EU], but spent most of the night talked about how Biden looked too cognitively impaired to run for president. While there’s about three-and-a-half years between Trump and Biden, Trump appears much younger, more spry, far more capable to talking comfortably to big crowds. Biden has captured the anti-Trump vote but hasn’t captured the pro-Biden vote if it exists at all. Trump used his rally to answer the avalanche of bad news in the mainstream press.
Trump commented how Biden gets a pass from the media, no matter what kinds of gaffes he makes. But the media can’t focus on Trump’s command over an audience because he’s up there with the great orators and showmen in U.S. history. Trump’s critics can’t stomach his superior political instincts and skills, in contrast to Biden who must be carefully scripted or things don’t quite come off right. Trump made a strong case that there’s no real separation between Biden and the radical groups that seems hell-bent on continuing street demonstrations, sometimes violence, until they get their demands met to de-fund the police. Talking about BLM and Antifa seizing six square blocks in Seattle, Trump let the crowd know that he’s letting Washington State and Seattle authorities handle the mess, refraining from sending in the National Guard to clear the agitators from the area.
Trump’s pitch to the audience addressed the drumbeat in the media that blames him for the coronavirus crisis and fallout in the economy. Trump talked about building the economy into the greatest money-and-jobs-making machine in U.S. history before the virus outbreak forced the economy to shut down to slow the spread. Trump said he built the economy up before and he would do it again, citing already improvements in the stock market and jump in retail sales. “Joe Biden is a shameless hypocrite,” Trump said, talking about his 47-year record doing nothing to help the black community. “America should not take lectures on racial justice from Joe Biden—sleepy Joe,” Trump said, praising himself for creating more jobs and better standard-of-living for African Americans and all minorities. Anti-Trump press didn’t dispute Trump’s facts, only said he didn’t fill up the 19,000 house.
Whatever shortcomings in the attendance, the rally showed that Trump was every bit in control of his audience than at any time in the 2016 presidential race against former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. When you think it’s four years later after a 22-month Special Counsel investigation and impeachment trial, all-in-all Trump’s better-for-the-wear, showing no signs of slowing down. If he didn’t get every seat filled, he delivered his story, not the one presented by what he calls the “fake news.” All the warnings from public health officials, especially in Tulsa, kept some followers at home, not due to a lack of enthusiasm. Biden knows he doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell to win Oklahoma, hoping for inroads in neighboring Texas. Trump showed beyond a doubt he’s up to the task.
Trump first campaign rally showed a little rust in the first few minutes but quickly showed he can whip up a crowd. Whether every seat was filled or not, Trump showed he can get his message out to his base and undecided voters looking to come aboard. Tying Biden to Black Lives Matters and his Party’s radical left, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, showed Trump’s audience what’s at stake in the 2020 election. Trump cleverly linked the street violence and anarchy with what would ultimately happen if he losse the election. Whether disruptive protesters blocked access to the arena is anyone’s guess. What attendees saw from Trump was the kind of fireworks they recall from past rallies. Tulsa fans, and those watching at home, were treated to some great Trump showmanship and artful stagecraft, anticipating more rallies building off of today’s momentum—a sign of things to come.
