Late last year, pre-COVID, I told my family I wanted to go to the next Trump rally anywhere near home (Atlanta). I considered going to the Nov 2018 rally in Macon, GA, Trump held to support Brian Kemp, as it was only a two-hour drive but didn’t adjust my schedule and the opportunity slipped by. A 2019 rally in Panama City Beach, FL, caught my eye, but it was a weekday, and I just couldn’t fit in the five-hour drive. Same problem with the Charlotte, NC, rally in March this year–the last opportunity before everything stopped.

When Trump chose Tulsa to host the restart of his rallies, I realized it would be only a two-and-a-half-hour drive, as the 19th fell in the middle of a work trip to south-central Oklahoma. But with my work schedule and the expected line to get in, there was no way to make it on Friday night. I discover the next day that the rally had been moved to Saturday–perfect, as my client is not working weekends.

I wasn’t sure what to expect for a line, so I got up early enough to get to the BOK Center by 8 a.m., and joined the modest crowd at one of the entrances. I was told that the sidewalk line had just been allowed to fill the blocked-off street in front of the gate outside the security perimeter.

There were a number of vendors of campaign gear, so I took the opportunity to update my attire–I had left my 2016 hat and T-shirt behind. This was my fashion statement for most of the day:

A number of news crews were working the area, both for crowd shots and interviews. And a small number of anti-Trump protesters. I won’t call them agitators, because they weren’t enough of them to be anything but meek in that crowd.

The CNN crew was identified and hassled a bit as “fake news.” I didn’t see anyone talking to them. I saw a Russian TV crew present. A very articulate guy next to me was interviewed by Swiss radio, and I was briefly interviewed by Canadian Broadcasting. That lady pushed a bit on my thoughts on Biden–I summed up my opinion of his presidential ambitions as “multi-time loser.” She liked that comment, but I doubt the CBC will air it. Maybe some of our Canadian members would know.

The crowd had been warned (big electronic sign at the gate) that many items would be prohibited, especially food and drinks. Backpacks and large bags were also prohibited. I returned to my vehicle to leave behind as much as practical. I wore cargo pants to have hands-free space for necessities (especially my cell phone chargers), so it worked out fine for me. The security perimeter opened a bit after 10 a.m. and was surprisingly fast and efficient.

Inside the perimeter, many people sampled the food trucks and took advantage of the porta-potties before joining the line at the arena itself. That line was entertained by a variety of performers, rock early, country later. The weather, while hot, wasn’t scorching, thanks to mostly overcast conditions. It was still hot enough to overcome a few people, which was handled quickly by security staff. Staff also made a lot of free bottled water available.

People in line were happy to hold spots for those who needed a pit stop or a food break. I didn’t see anyone abusing the crowd’s generosity towards those moving back and forth to their places in line. It was close quarters — certainly not “social distancing” — but not a crush. There were quite a few elderly and infirm people that many would think should have stayed away from such conditions. They clearly didn’t care, and some were quite vocal about the subject. We stood in line from 10:30-ish to 2:30-ish, when they opened the arena gates.

Starting at 2 p.m., the outdoor stage hosted some interviews with various members of the Black Voices for Trump organization, including Herman Cain. Those interviews continued while the crowd (including me) were streaming into the arena, so I don’t have anything to report about that.

I was close enough to the front of the line to get a great seat, with a clear view of the stage from right at center-court. I did a quick video panorama to capture the crowd:

I chatted with my neighbors about the thin crowd and one reported that there were still big crowds outside, according to a friend at home commenting on footage from a TV news helicopter. Anyway, the lower deck filled in slowly, excluding the section marked off behind the TV media stand (that section can’t see the stage due to the very large media structure). The upper deck ended up with just a scattered few.

I did another video panorama during Pence’s warmup speech. The crowd size in the arena was pretty static at this point, about 15 minutes before Trump took the stage:

The warmup speakers were are really good. Dr. Alveda King led off with a beautiful invocation. Heart-stirring but serious, ending with the Lord’s Prayer in revival fashion. It is wonderful to have her in the campaign. I haven’t had any recent occasion to watch/listen to Kimberly Guilfoyle, so her energetic and energizing speech was a pleasant surprise. I think she’s transitioning from news to politics–I won’t be surprised to see her run for office at some point. Laura and Eric Trump made you feel you were seeing a bit into Trump’s family.

Diamond and Silk delivered a barn-burner of a speech, pummeling Biden’s patronizing ways, past and present. Red meat for blacks who care about their freedom and have opened their eyes. They had me chuckling throughout. Pence had the penultimate speech, of course. He’s never out of control, but his passion for the cause leaks from his pores. If the rapport he describes between him and Trump isn’t true, he’s a [expletive] fine liar.

Trump took the stage shortly after 7 p.m. I’d never seen him speak in person, and was impressed. His style is very casual. Much of his time was spent telling stories to set up his points. Particularly points highlighting the habit of “fake news” to lie by omission. Lots of red meat on topic after topic. The key message from the night: Trump succeeding in Making America Great Again before Covid-19, and Trump can Make America Great Again Again with America’s support.

The video:

My assessment: very well done indeed. This won’t be my last Trump Rally.