Health expert calls Donald Trump's Tulsa rally amid COVID-19 a 'criminal endangerment'

After US President Donald Trump claimed that over one million people requested tickets for his first rally, a health expert has reportedly called organising such an event on June 20 “criminal endangerment”. In a televised interview with an international media outlet, Dr Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at George Washington University has said that the US President “doesn’t really care” about the risk that the rally visitors would be exposed to of contracting COVID-19. According to Reiner, Trump’s reelection rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma is trump ‘intentionally exposing’ people to coronavirus for ‘just a photo op’. 

The ‘Make America Great Again’ rally in Tulsa’s indoor venue is reportedly expected to see a record number of guests. However, Reiner has urged people to not attend the event, instead stay at home and watch Trump’s address on television and said, “do not go”.  Trump, who has already shifted the date of the event once on learning the relevance of ‘Juneteenth’, is being cautioned by health professionals against holding the rally amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the 45th US President has pledged that ‘Covid shaming won’t work’ which is being attempted by “Fake News Media”. 

Donald Trump even said that the media had “no Covid problem” when Black Lives Matter protesters were flooding the streets after African American George Floyd died in police custody on May 25. He specifically mentioned that violent demonstrators or “rioters and looters” destroyed the cities that were run by Democrat leaders. Therefore, shaming Trump’s reelection campaign on their “big rallies” is not useful. 

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Precautionary measures taken by campaign

Even though Trump’s reelection campaign has denied taking any responsibility if rally visitors contract COVID-19, its manager Brad Parscale has listed a few precautions that have places for the event. Before entering the venue, each ‘guest’ will have to get their body temperatures checked, along with complimentary masks and hand sanitizers. Parscale restated that over one million people have requested tickets for the ‘MAGA’ rally and informed that there will be arrangements for bottled water and precautions for heat.

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