White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is weighing in on the turnout for President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
During an appearance on “Fox and Friends” Monday morning, McEnany was asked about the president’s reaction to the underwhelming turnout of rally goers for Saturday’s rally in Tulsa.
Although Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale previously touted more than 1 million requests for tickets, the Tulsa Fire Department confirmed that roughly 6,200 ticketholders arrived for the rally, as previously reported on IJR.
Despite the lower than expected turnout, McEnany insists the president was “not angry at all” while boasting that the rally was a “huge success.”
“The president was not angry at all. The president was quite energized. I was with him after the rally,” McEnany said. “It was a huge success. His speech got rave reviews. He was in good spirits on Marine 1.”
McEnany went on to commend the president for “routinely” drawing large crowds, noting his previous event with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
She continued, “What the president routinely does is draw extraordinary turnout as we saw, for instance, at the event with Prime Minister Modi, 50,000 people turned out. He was in a good mood. It was a great night and there was a lot to celebrate.”
See McEnany’s remarks below (starting at 19:30):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eUNio9eK4U
Noting his own experiences with the president, Fox host Steve Doocy was skeptical to believe Trump was pleased with the turnout that marked his return to the campaign trail.
“You’re saying he was not furious? Because we’ve known Donald Trump. He was on this show every Monday for years,” Doocy said. “That guy who used to be on our show would have been furious that something went haywire.”
Again, McEnany doubled down on her claim as she insisted the president was not angry about the turnout.
“In my interactions with the president after the rally on Marine 1 with him, I checked in with him on Air Force One, and he was in very good spirits — spoke with him again about the rally yesterday and it got rave reviews. His speech was very good focusing on all of the accomplishments of this administration and he is in his best mood when he gets to speak directly to the American people because that’s what he loves.”
McEnany’s interview follows a string of reports about the rally. Although Parscale released a statement that blamed protesters for blocking the entrance of the BOK Center in Tulsa, reports have confirmed only one protester was temporarily apprehended.
Reports have also claimed the event was trolled by an overwhelming number of TikTok users and K-Pop fans who registered for tickets to the event with no intent on attending.