London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

Trump at comeback rally: 'The silent majority is stronger than ever before'

Donald Trump ignores COVID-19 warnings and goes ahead with a comeback rally as the pandemic continues to ravage the country.

US President Donald Trump has declared that "the silent majority is stronger than ever before" as he held his first rally since March.

But it appeared that many of his "silent majority" had stayed at home, amid warnings from health officials about the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

The rally at the BOK stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had been promoted as a comeback opportunity for Mr Trump - a chance to boost his campaign for re-election in November.

He is currently behind Democratic rival Joe Biden in many polls.

The stadium has a capacity of 19,000 but organisers had said that only 10,000 people would be allowed to enter.

But in the hours before Mr Trump started speaking, crowds appeared to be significantly lighter than expected and campaign officials scrapped plans for him to first address an overflow space.


Mr Trump blamed the news media for saying "don't go, don't come, don't do anything", adding: "We begin our campaign... the silent majority is stronger than ever before."

He also blamed a group of Black Lives Matter protesters outside, a group also smaller than expected but largely peaceful, described by him as "the unhinged left-wing mob".

The Trump campaign's communications director, Tim Murtaugh, had said earlier: "Sadly, protesters interfered with supporters, even blocking access to the metal detectors, which prevented people from entering the rally.

"Radical protesters, coupled with a relentless onslaught from the media, attempted to frighten off the president's supporters. We are proud of the thousands who stuck it out."

Mr Trump also told the crowd that he had "saved hundreds and thousands of lives" by closing the US off to flights from China at the end of January.

He went on to describe testing for the coronavirus as a "double-edged sword", saying that 25 million people had been tested in the US but "when you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people, you're going to find more cases, so I said to my people 'slow the testing down please'".

A White House official said later that Mr Trump was "obviously kidding" with that remark.

The US is still struggling to contain COVID-19, leading many to question the wisdom of holding the rally, even if social distancing and mask-wearing were encouraged.

Just hours earlier, it had been revealed that six members of Mr Trump's campaign team had tested positive for coronavirus.

Those in attendance were even asked to waive their rights to sue the Trump campaign should they catch the virus, which has killed 463,000 people worldwide, including almost 120,000 in the US.

At least 10,040 people have tested positive in Oklahoma and 368 people have died.

Ahead of the rally, Sky's correspondent Mark Stone, who is in Tulsa, said the county had reported its highest number of virus cases that day.

He added: "And so with that backdrop, I think by any measure it is an unusual decision by Donald Trump and his team to hold the rally in the stadium."

He added: "Some people here are wearing masks, but most people are not and on top of that, many are actually asking us why we are wearing masks - inferring that as part of the 'fake news' we are compounding what they see as a fake virus."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×