Officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had considered staging an event to counter President Donald Trump’s rally back in June.
Emails, obtained by BuzzFeed News through a freedom of information request, reveal officials communicated about trying to bring a top national figure to the city to divert attention from the planned Trump rally.
According to BuzzFeed News the emails show officials expressed concern over messaging and sought to “counter the narrative (Trump) has established.”
James Coles, the director of economic development, noted in a June 11 email, that someone like Oprah or LeBron James “could level the volume and provide a serious counter voice.”
And Becky Gligo, housing policy director, wrote in a June 11 email: “I fully support a counter effort.”
Officials finally decided against staging another event out of concern it would upstage the Juneteenth holiday on June 19, the date set for the Trump rally. The holiday marks the end of slavery in the U.S.
Trump, after receiving criticism over scheduling his rally on the holiday, announced on June 12 he was pushing his event back a day.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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