Oklahoma leaders lobbied for Republican National Convention, instead got Tulsa campaign stop on President Trump's return to the trail

A spokesman for Gov. Kevin Stitt told the Tulsa World on Thursday that the president’s rally is the result of state leaders’ lobbying to get the Republican National Convention held in Oklahoma later this summer after it was announced that the original convention site, Charlotte, North Carolina, would not allow a crowded convention to take place there because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As far as the ‘invitation,’ the state has reached out to the RNC about holding the convention in Oklahoma, and any president is always welcome to visit Oklahoma. It is my understanding the invitation was a general one and not tied to this specific event,” said Charlie Hannema, chief of communications for Stitt. “Governor Stitt welcomes President Trump to Oklahoma as we are a national leader in safely and responsibly reopening our economy.”

Trump himself announced the Tulsa campaign stop on Wednesday, praising Oklahoma for doing “a great job with COVID.” He also said the rally would be held in a “beautiful new venue, brand new,” which turned out to be the 12-year-old BOK Center downtown.

The RNC announced Thursday evening that some of the convention events, including the president’s nomination acceptance speech, will be moved to Jacksonville, Florida.

The Trump campaign released details on Thursday for the Tulsa rally, set for 8 p.m. June 19. The doors will open at 4 p.m. for the ticketed, general admission event, according to a release from the campaign.

Online registration for the event requires would-be attendees to acknowledge “that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. 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 timing of Trump’s first rally since the nation became gripped by the pandemic in March and amid nationwide protests against racism and police brutality has also sparked shock and anger among some Tulsans because it coincides with Juneteenth, the nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

Asked about the timing, Hannema said Gov. Stitt’s office “was not involved in the selection of the date of the event,” and he referred further questions to the Trump campaign.

Alicia Andrews, Oklahoma Democratic Party chair, said she believes there was “intentionality” in the timing of the Trump event.

“It’s intentional and smacks of insensitivity on the part of the president and the governor,” Andrews said. “Why come to Tulsa weeks after the 99th anniversary (of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre)?”

Judy Eason McIntyre, a retired social worker who served eight years in the Oklahoma Senate, said she called the Governor’s Office on Thursday morning to express her concern that the timing of the event could stoke racial and political tensions in Tulsa.

“It’s more than a visit, and with all of this stuff going on — I can’t get out in the streets anymore, so I do my part from home,” McIntyre said.

The organization that puts on Tulsa’s Juneteenth celebration, which is usually one of the biggest in the country, canceled this year’s event several weeks ago because of COVID-19 risks.

Chairman Sherry Gamble-Smith said rumors that the city asked for the cancellation are not true.

“There was no way to do the proper social distancing,” said Gamble-Smith. “We did not want anyone to get sick.”

She said the timing of Trump’s appearance “felt like a slap in the face” to African Americans.

“My messages are flooded with people who have said, ‘We’re coming down to help you protest.’ We never said we’d be protesting,” said Gamble-Smith.

But now she expects protests, and she’s worried that Tulsa’s police force has already been spread too thin.

“We’re trying to figure what we can do to keep people organized,” she said. “We want to make sure people’s voices are heard but in a safe way.”

News of Trump’s reelection campaign rally made it to city leaders only one day before the president made it public.

In fact, spokeswoman Michelle Brooks said city officials learned about the event on Tuesday when “the potential event venue reached out to the city.”

She confirmed that Mayor G.T. Bynum has been inundated by criticism that he did nothing to put a stop to the Trump campaign’s plans, but Brooks said the city has no control over where the president can visit.

“Mayor Bynum did not sign a contract or an agreement, as this was coordinated through the event organizer and venue management firm,” she said. “Every entity has the same access and constitutional right to hold events in public spaces.”

Bynum, a Republican elected to a nonpartisan city office, told the World he does not plan to attend the rally.

“I’ve not been asked, and as a nonpartisan mayor I do not engage in partisan campaign rallies,” he said.

“I do plan to greet the president and welcome him to Tulsa, as a mayor should any time a sitting president visits their city.”

Kevin Canfield contributed to this story.

Video: Highlights of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign stop in Tulsa

Gallery: In 2016, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin visit Tulsa for campaign event