Trump campaign blames protesters for poor turnout at Tulsa rally

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign blames the disappointing crowd at his Tulsa rally on protesters creating a hostile atmosphere and blocking supporters from getting into the arena.

The White House had promised that the much-hyped event — Trump’s first rally in three months — would be flooded with up to 100,000 people, but television images showed large sections of empty seating in the 19,000-capacity BOK Center.

An outdoor event for the overflow crowd was canceled because no one showed up, despite the campaign hyping huge interest ahead of time, with more than a million ticket requests.

Senior Trump campaign aide Mercedes Schlapp tells “Fox News Sunday” that attendees were unable to get into the BOK Center.

“There were factors involved, like they were concerned about the protesters who were coming in. There were protesters who blocked the (attendees),” Schlapp says.

“And so we saw that have an impact in terms of people coming to the rally.”

Schlapp goes on to say there were families that “didn’t want to bring — couldn’t bring — their children because of concerns of the protesters.”

Schlapp was echoing an explanation first offered Saturday night by Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh, who said protesters were “even blocking access to the metal detectors, which prevented people from entering.”

But reporters on the ground said they saw no problems for people trying to get in.

— AFP