‘Fox & Friends’ Host Questions Who Thought Indoor Trump Rally Was ‘A Good Idea’

The upper section of the arena is seen partially empty as US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the BOK Center on June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. - Hundreds of supporters lined up early for Do... The upper section of the arena is seen partially empty as US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the BOK Center on June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. - Hundreds of supporters lined up early for Donald Trump's first political rally in months, saying the risk of contracting COVID-19 in a big, packed arena would not keep them from hearing the president's campaign message. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

In the aftermath of Trump’s rally over the weekend that failed to draw the large crowds the campaign boasted about, “Fox & Friends” hosts admitted on Monday that convening an indoor rally amid a pandemic that has seen recent spikes across the country may not have been the best idea.

While Trump’s campaign team had bragged about a shortage of seating to accommodate upward of a million requests to attend the Saturday rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, fewer than 6,500 people actually showed up — filling the BOK Center to just about half its capacity. 

“They have to think about how they want to do it from here,” co-host Kilmeade said. “Let’s be honest, as experienced as anyone is, no one has ever been through a campaign with a pandemic and civil unrest, two things out of control of Democrats and Republicans.”

Kilmeade said that the campaign will have to regroup ahead of its upcoming Arizona event, a state that has recently seen a rise in new COVID-19 cases.

Co-host Steve Doocy noted that fear of “anarchists” causing a ruckus at the rally was a one idea that had been batted around to explain the attendance flop on Saturday, but he said the indoor scene with no mask requirement was another more probable one.

“I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to put 20,000 people in a room with masks optional,” he said, in spite of repeated calls from critics, who, ahead of Saturday’s rally, cautioned the president’s team to rethink the indoor event. “They want to do something big, think stadium. Think an amphitheater. Think about a NASCAR track. Lots of room, outside, people can social distance and feel safe.”

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Gee I wonder. Maybe it’s the same idiot who thinks that no testing means no virus?

  2. Doocey is an odd one. The man is so utterly stupid it is mindboggling, but he of the three on the show seems to once in a while accidentally alight on something sensical to say…no doubt promptly followed by abject nonsense, but nonetheless…

  3. How do you think he survived his own personal Vietnam without getting diagnosed with a STD…

  4. TPM: Please be a little more accurate in your descriptions. Reality in brackets.

    The upper section of the arena is seen partially [almost completely] empty as US President Donald Trump speaks

    fewer than 6,500 people actually showed up — filling the BOK Center to just about half [one third] its capacity.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

82 more replies

Participants

Avatar for fgs Avatar for meri Avatar for quitty Avatar for dont Avatar for sniffit Avatar for thebigragu Avatar for sagrilarus Avatar for alyoshakaramazov1 Avatar for left_in_washington_state Avatar for dickweed Avatar for schmed Avatar for mainemomma Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for docd Avatar for tsp Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for news247 Avatar for greysea Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for stevecoh1 Avatar for occamscoin Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for Caepan Avatar for ClutchCargo

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: