The Trump re-election campaign is doubling down on its claims that concerns about protesters prevented people from attending President Trump's comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday night, keeping attendance lower than anticipated.
Campaign manager Brad Parscale was particularly aggrieved by reports that TikTok users and K-Pop fans were behind the empty seats after they purposefully booked hundreds of free tickets to make sure the arena didn't fill up. Parscale instead blamed the turnout on "recent images of American cities on fire" and the media for instilling fear about protesters and the coronavirus. Mercedes Schlapp, a campaign spokeswoman, shared a similar point of view Sunday, telling Fox News' Chris Wallace that her own family members who live close to Tulsa were concerned about the protesters, although reports on the ground did not indicate protesters interfered with rallygoers.
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