President Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh on Wednesday said that 12,000 people attended his campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., contradicting numbers released by the Tulsa Fire Department.
Murtaugh was asked on Hill.TV about the dispute after Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale claimed that almost 1 million people requested tickets and the fire department reported about 6,200 people showed up.
“We know how many people came through magnetometers which are operated by the Secret Service and it was 12,000,” he said.
Murtaugh addressed the contradiction in expected numbers, saying that the media warned people in the week leading up to the rally “don’t go to the Trump rally” because of the coronavirus pandemic. He added that on top of that, there was a “threat of violence” with protests, with the Tulsa mayor saying he expected outside groups to come and demonstrate.
“It really looked like a war-zone really,” he said, referring to Tulsa’s preparation for the rally. “And even though all of that was happening, still 12,000 people showed up.”
Murtaugh added, “absolutely the rally was a success” having 7.7 million viewers on Fox News, having more than 12 million online and raising $10 million.
“The president is eager to get back on the campaign trail and do more,” he said.
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