Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) on Thursday said President Trump is practically throwing a “welcome home party” for white supremacists by restarting his iconic MAGA rallies in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Juneteenth.
“This isn’t just a wink to white supremacists—he’s throwing them a welcome home party,” Harris said:
The Trump campaign signaled this week the president could restart his rallies, which have been paused since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, within weeks. On Wednesday, Trump announced he would resume his fan-filled rallies in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 19, otherwise known as Juneteenth, a day many celebrate as the end of slavery.
“We’re going to start our rallies back up now. We’ve had a tremendous run at rallies,” Trump said on Wednesday during a roundtable discussion with black leaders. “They’ve done a great job with COVID, as you know, in the state of Oklahoma.”
However, many critics are perturbed by the location due to its weighty racial history, serving as the location of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which is “believed to be the single worst incident of racial violence in American history.”
Harris was not the only Trump critic to air grievances:
The Trump campaign, however, is not backing away.
“As the Party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of what Juneteenth represents and the Emancipation Proclamation. @realDonaldTrump has a solid record of success for Black Americans. It’s @JoeBiden who has the horrible record of racial division and condescension,” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said. “Facts matter”:
The rally comes amid racial tensions spurred by the death of George Floyd, as anarchists and rioters seized on the opportunity and inflicted chaos — dominated by looting, vandalism, and assault — across several U.S. cities.
President Trump has held rallies in several cities since taking office, appearing in Minneapolis, Dallas, Miami, Phoenix, and most recently, Charlotte. He plans to hold future rallies in cities across North Carolina, Texas, Florida, and Arizona.