President Trump changed the date of his planned Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally out of “respect” for Juneteenth, he tweeted late Friday.
The campaign rally, originally scheduled for the holiday on Friday, June 19, will now be held on Saturday, June 20.
The original date fell “on the Juneteenth Holiday,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets. “Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect for this Holiday, and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents.”
Juneteenth marks the day when news that President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas, the last state where slaves learned of their freedom.
Word of the rally had angered Democrats because it promised large crowds during the coronavirus pandemic and was planned for Juneteenth, even as Trump described George Floyd protesters across the country as “thugs,” “anarchists” and “domestic terrorists.”
The location of the rally also bothers opponents.
Tulsa in 1921 was the site where mobs of white rioters attacked black residents and their homes and businesses in a historic section of the city known as “Black Wall Street.” Hundreds of residents were killed and thousands more left homeless.
The president said his campaign has registered upwards of 200,000 ticket requests for the event, his first rally since the coronavirus pandemic. Supporters attending the event must first sign a disclaimer bearing all responsibility if they catch COVID-19.
In an Oval Office interview last month, Trump told The Post that he viewed his rallies as critical to his campaign, saying he would be at a “big disadvantage” if COVID-19 prevented rallies before Election Day in November.
“I hope we’re going to be able to get the rallies back before the election. I actually think it’s very important,” Trump said in the interview.