US President Donald Trump has postponed his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was earlier scheduled for June 19 (Juneteenth), a holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the US. It will now be held on June 20.
"We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th - a big deal. Unfortunately, however, this would fall on the Juneteenth Holiday. Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect for this Holiday, and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents," Trump said in a series of tweets.
"I have therefore decided to move our rally to Saturday, June 20th, in order to honour their requests. We have already had ticket requests in excess of 200,000 people. I look forward to seeing everyone in Oklahoma!" he said.
The sudden decision has led to speculations on whether the postponement of his first presidential campaign since the coronavirus outbreak is due to recent anti-racism protests.
However, during an interview with Fox News, Trump said, "The fact that I am having a rally on that day -- you can really think about that very positively as a celebration. Because a rally to me is a celebration. It is an interesting date. It was not done for that reason, but it is an interesting date."
In 1921, white mobs had massacred hundreds of African Americans in Tulsa during riots.
Earlier, Trump had announced that he would resume his campaign rallies in four states -- Oklahoma, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina -- despite the coronavirus pandemic and rising number of cases in the US.
As the coronavirus cases continue to surge in the country, the US President's campaign website has stated that the Trump supporters must sign a waiver promising not to sue if they catch COVID-19 at the event.
( With inputs from ANI )