Kellyanne Conway says 'peacefully protesting' outside shows people can attend a MAGA rally indoors

County's top health official calls indoor rally a 'huge risk factor' as Ms Conway promises 'everybody a mask, hand sanitiser, a thermometer check' at event

Team Trump is showing no signs of cancelling or delaying Donald Trump's planned Saturday return to the campaign rallies he so cherishes, even as Covid-19 cases climb in Tulsa, because outside protests show an indoor rally can be safe.

Donald Trump is slated to address supporters for the first time since March inside the Oklahoma city's BOK Center, a multipurpose arena that seats around 19,000 people. The president and his campaign team say they have received between 800,000 and 1m requests for tickets – even though the respiratory disease that has claimed at least 117,000 lives inside the United States is spreading in Tulsa County.

A senior aide to the president on Wednesday told reporters that if anyone with a ticket feels worried about getting sick at the event, they should stay home. But White House counselor Kellyanne Conway also contended the Trump campaign, which is requiring rally-goers sign waivers absolving it of liability for those that might get sick, has taken every precaution possible to keep people healthy.

"The president's campaign, I read, has taken precautions by giving everybody a mask, hand sanitiser, a thermometer check," she told reporters outside the White House. "People are going to go if they feel comfortable going. So we always tell people, 'Here's the guidance, feel comfortable, don't feel comfortable.'"

She equated attending the indoor rally to protesting police killings of black people outside.

"We also know that people don't want to be locked down forever. We see them peacefully protesting. We see folks doing many things," she said.

Ms Conway described Mr Trump as "very excited to get back on the road and connect directly with people," adding: "I'm sure there are those who will never want [him] to do that again because, obviously, that is the gold standard and his stock and trade for him."

The president is insisting on going ahead with the rally as his poll numbers continue to plummet amid two crises with which he has struggled: the coronavirus outbreak and a national mood for major policing changes after the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer.

In a new Reuters-Ipsos survey, 55 per cent of those polled said they disapprove of Mr Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. That's compared to 40 per cent who approve. Mr Trump's approval rating plummeted to 38 per cent in the same survey, his lowest mark since November; at that time, House Democrats were in the midst of their impeachment proceedings against the president.

The same survey gave former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, a 13-point lead nationally over Mr Trump. The president also is either in a dead heat with Mr Biden or trailing in states that the incumbent won in 2016, including Iowa. But Ms Conway brushed off any concerns.

"I think what you're going to see in many of these swing states is what we saw in 2016, which is Biden and Trump in relatively close proximity to each other, under 50 per cent in most of these swing states," she said, appearing to group Iowa into a seemingly growing number of battlegrounds as Mr Biden's poll numbers improve.

'Huge risk factor'

Meantime, the president is slated to be in Tulsa on Saturday night despite a spreading virus there and warnings from the county's top health official.

"A large indoor rally with 19-20,000 people is a huge risk factor today in Tulsa, Oklahoma," Tulsa City-County Health Department director Bruce Dart told the Tulsa World. "I want to make sure we can keep everyone in that building safe, including the president."

Mr Trump already delayed what will be his first official campaign rally since March by one day after an outcry of his original plan to hold the event on Friday. June 19 is also known as Juneteenth, which is recognised as a day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Mr Dart's concern comes after Tulsa County's seven-day average of coronavirus cases climbed from 24.9 on 7 June to 51.4 seven days later.

"I think it's an honour for Tulsa to have a sitting president want to come and visit our community, but not during a pandemic. I'm concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, and I'm also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well," Mr Dart told the newspaper.

"Covid is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently," he added. "I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today."