President Trump’s campaign features a disclaimer on the registration page for the upcoming June 19 rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, requiring attendees to acknowledge the risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus. It also asks they agree to not hold the campaign or other related entities liable if they contract the virus.
Trump this week announced he will resume his iconic MAGA rallies and kick it off in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Juneteenth after over three months away from the campaign trail due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While the risk of the coronavirus has not been eradicated, the country is gradually reopening after weeks of closures across a range of industries, as cases and hospitalizations decline across the board. The Trump campaign, while resuming the rallies, is taking precautions in the post-pandemic era and having attendees acknowledge a disclaimer upon registering for the upcoming event. It reads:
By clicking register below, you are acknowledging 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.
Trump critics have seized on the disclaimer, accusing the president of asking people to risk their lives for a photo op:
The President AGAIN, risking lives for a “photo op”. He wants the “visual” of thousands of people applauding him at his rallies. If rally-goers get the coronavirus and die, he wants to be sure it is NOT his problem. Rallygoers must click on a disclaimer promising not to sue. WOW
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) June 12, 2020
Oh my God
To attend the Trump Tulsa rally you have to sign a disclaimer that you're aware of COVID19 & you agree not to hold Trump responsible if you are infected by the virus
This man is *knowingly* exposing Americans to a deadly virus for his ego😳https://t.co/k3TTqm2xpo
— Qasim Rashid for Congress (@QasimRashid) June 11, 2020
TRUMP: Come to Our Rally.
PS. It could kill you, but that’s your problem.“By clicking register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to Covid-19 exists in any public place where people are present.” ~Trump Campaign https://t.co/MTq5GGhoAR
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) June 12, 2020
Here’s the document Trump’s campaign wants you to sign in case you contract Covid-19 at a Trump rally https://t.co/KzYuk08XIG pic.twitter.com/sHHQzHvBFC
— CNN (@CNN) June 12, 2020
He's happy to invite Americans to dies, as long as they cheer for him.#EndTrumpsWarOnAmerica https://t.co/4Y6fpL2gYa
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) June 12, 2020
Rally… at your own risk. https://t.co/eUfOzMkbck
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 11, 2020
Meanwhile, groups of hundreds — even thousands — of demonstrators have taken to the streets across the nation in protest, earning praise from establishment media and some of these same Trump critics. Some of the most stringent pro-lockdown Democrat politicians, like Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D), have participated in these crowded events despite weeks of sharp warnings and criticisms to those who have clamored for the reopening of the country.
Trump has also received criticism for holding the rally in Tulsa, the location of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which is “believed to be the single worst incident of racial violence in American history”on Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the end of slavery. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) described the upcoming rally as a “welcome home party” for white supremacists.
“As the Party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of what Juneteenth represents and the Emancipation Proclamation,” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale wrote in response to the backlash. “Donald Trump has a solid record of success for Black Americans.”
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