PRESIDENT Donald Trump said on Wednesday he intends to stage campaign rallies again soon, with the first event likely to be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Juneteenth.
Tulsa was the site of a horrific race massacre in 1921, and the date believed to have been chosen by Trump is June 19, used to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.
The news comes at a time when America is gripped by protests surrounding racial injustice and police brutality following the killing of George Floyd.
Trump also told reporters at the White House that he would announce a new location soon for a speech in August accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for president.
According to campaign advisers, sites under consideration include places in Texas and Georgia, but it is likely the president will choose Jacksonville, Florida.
The Republican National Convention, where he will be nominated, had been planned for Charlotte, North Carolina, but the state’s Democratic governor Roy Cooper is refusing to allow the crowd size that Trump wants in order to maintain social distancing.
Trump said: “We’re going to North Carolina at the appropriate time. The governor’s a little backward there. He’s a little bit behind. And unfortunately we’re going to probably be having no choice but to move the Republican convention to another location. That’ll be announced shortly.”
Wednesday’s news announcement that Trump will begin campaign rallies again comes at a time when the president is looking to rebound from a drop in opinion polls following his much-criticized handling of the coronavirus and the mass protests, which were sparked by the killing of George Floyd.
Trump has been on a three-month-long hiatus from the road, brought on by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Over recent months the virus has killed more than 112,000 people in the United States – the most in the world.
It was recently revealed that President Trump planned to ditch the “Keep America Great” slogan just months before Election Day.
In response, those on social media offered their thoughts on what the new slogan should be.
