Friday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) addressed concerns about President Donald Trump’s upcoming rally in Tulsa amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
With many questioning the safety of holding a rally as the coronavirus continues to spread, Stitt asked during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” when the right time to hold a rally is. He advised if people are concerned, they have the freedom to stay home, while there is also the freedom to attend the rally.
“Well, my response to those folks, the naysayers is, when is the right time?” Stitt stated. “The coronavirus is in the United States. It’s in Oklahoma. We have to take precautions. But we have the freedoms to stay at home. You have the freedoms to come to this rally. And what we’re seeing in Oklahoma, 75 percent of the new cases are all under the age of 50. … There’s been three deaths in Oklahoma under the age of 50, which is 0.14 percent death rate.”
“[M]y safer at home for the elderly population and those immune-compromised is really working,” he continued. “That is the population that we’re trying to protect through the nursing homes, we’ve stopped visitations and those kinds of things. But we have to get back into society because it’s not practical to have a bunker in place for the next, you know, 24 months.”
Stitt went on to say he was “very reluctant to mandate wearing a mask,” but rallygoers have the freedom to wear one. He also circled back to the concerns on the timing of the rally.
“My question back to all the folks that say you shouldn’t have a rally, when is the right time? Do we really think that in July or August or in November, coronavirus is not going to be here? We’ve got to learn to deal with this. We’ve got to learn to be safe, take precautions, but we’ve got to learn to also live our lives,” he added.
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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