Chris Wallace grills Trump campaign adviser on Tulsa rally: "The arena was empty"

[babylonsister]

https://www.axios.com/trump-rally-chris-wallace-mercedes-schlapp-67b2778d-a00c-4f89-acd9-77fb8d680395.html


22 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Chris Wallace grills Trump campaign adviser on Tulsa rally: "The arena was empty"
Jacob Knutson
Video @ link~


"Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace grilled Trump campaign adviser Mercedes Schlapp on why the president's Saturday rally in Tulsa saw lower-than-expected attendance, despite claims by Trump last week that 1 million people had requested tickets.

snip//

The exchange:

SCHLAPP: "I'd love to see a Joe Biden rally. Let's bring it on, because there is no comparison. The phenomenon of the rally came because of President Trump, and people came out. Those people that knew that they wanted to be there physically present with the president. They joined us, and they're family-oriented individuals who wanted to come out and be with us." *CROSSTALK*

WALLACE: "Mercedes, please don't filibuster. We're showing pictures here and it shows big, empty areas. Frankly, it makes you guys look silly when you deny the reality of what happened."

What they're saying: Schlapp continued to deflect from the crowd size and attack Biden, calling him a "failed politician" and stating that Trump used the rally to "talk about the failed record of Joe Biden."

"Joe Biden has been a career politician that has done nothing but supported failed institutions."

"There were empty seats there," Wallace said. "You're shifting to a campaign speech which has nothing to do with the attendance of the rally."

[gratuitous]

1. "You guys look silly when you deny reality"

Really, Mr. Wallace? Because for four years the media have been taking the word of Trump's mouthpieces as a suitable substitute for reality. I hope you and the rest of the political punditry are snapping out of it at last.

[sfstaxprep]

4. Hasn't He At Least Been Somewhat Unbiased?

I thought Chris Wallace was one of the RARE Faux News exceptions.

[PatSeg]

5. Oh yes

Much more than the other Fox News personalities. He often sounds sane and rational.

[gratuitous]

6. He comes around every so often

But generally speaking, the media have chosen to believe and report what Trump and his lackeys are saying rather than the stark reality staring them in the face. That dam is and has been leaking, but I'm getting impatient waiting for the break.

[sfstaxprep]

12. I Can't Disagree With You

The media was highly responsible for putting him there, and they've sat by while he gets away with EVERYTHING.

[Gore1FL]

17. He occasionally does so.

I think he has limits and boundaries. I'll give him that.

[uponit7771]

11. +1, He'll be trusting everything they say tomorrow

[at140]

2. Mercedes Schlapp is wrong!

Biden will soon hold rallies with 20 thousand cheering audience and keep them spell bound for 2 solid hours.

[sfstaxprep]

3. When It's Safe, I Would 100% Go See Joe Speak nt

[Skittles]

27. I don't think Joe is stupid enough to do that during a pandemic

seriously

[at140]

32. pandemic is slowly going away

By September, the morbid fear of covid-19 will be history.
H1N1 virus a decade ago was more potent because it killed people of all ages.
covid-19 is mostly hurting retirement age people with health issues.

[Skittles]

34. are you for real?

we are not even done with the first wave yet

[at140]

35. Here in Florida, they have lifted EVERY restriction

I am near Jacksonville, and visiting restaurants, grocery stores, the beautiful beaches here, hospital every 3 weeks to accompany my wife for her cancer treatments, going to bank, post office, picking up food from restaurants, etc. I am age 80 and not even slight symptoms of any disease. This year I even did not get influenza. Because i learned how to avoid covid-19 infection and that has helped me avoid influenza as well. Very few people are sick here in St John's county with covid-19. Most infections in Florida are in Miami-Dade area, and thatis 300 miles away from here. I do not know what they are doing wrong and we are doing right here in St John's. Wife and I were on a crowded cruise ship ending on February 29th on a Carnival ship.

[Skittles]

41. did you know there are now over 4000 cases of covid in Florida every day?

BECAUSE THEY OPENED UP TOO EARLY

[brush]

36. Please. You sound like trump. Don't be a fool. This virus will be with us until there is a vaccine..

and no one knows when that will happen.

Pls don't repeat this foolishness. Cases are exploding in dozens of states right now.

[at140]

38. Here in NE Florida, everything is open!

Even massage parlors. My usual grocery store does not require a mask anymore to enter.
So this feels like no one is worried about the virus anymore. I am just going by what I see.
I do not pay any attention to Trump, and never read his tweets.

[brush]

39. That's where you are. It's much different in other parts of the country.

[at140]

40. Very well could be, My traveling is on hold...nt

[Skittles]

42. wise up already

https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/infectious-disease-experts-expect-florida-to-be-new-coronavirus-epicenter-by-mid-july/67-a038a4f5-7ffa-49ee-9814-bfb246bbb2e5

[at140]

43. I am going to stick to my own experience as an 80 year old!

Me and wife were on a crowded cruise ship ending on Feb 29th, with all Asian crew.
Never skipped the buffet's for lunch which were always packed, especially Guy Fieri's Burger joint on ship.
I Went to Gym on the ship every day. Usually had lots of young people working out. Why old people avoid gyms?
Those are the secret of my vitality at age 80.
Soaked in hot tubs every day which were usually packed with people.

Coming back from cruise, I have shopped in grocery stores EVERY week at least once, sometimes twice.
Accompanied wife to cancer hospital every 3 weeks for her chemo treatment , and sit in with her cancer doctor.
Have picked up food from restaurants every other day.
Visited my bank to access safe deposit vault and deposit stimulus checks.
Been to post office to buy stamps.
Filled gas in our 2 cars touching the most contaminated object in town, the gas dispenser nozzle.
Have been to Lowe's and Home Depot to buy stuff for backyard.
Had a visit with eye doctor to get new eye glasses for computer use.

So my conclusion BASED ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE is that covid-19 can be avoided by what me and my wife have practiced.
Which is never touch face with unwashed hands.

So I don't care what Trump says or thinks. If covid-19 can not infect me, an 80 year old and a 66 year old cancer patient wife,
why should I curtail any activities in future? Getting ready to sign up for a cruise as soon as they open up again in September.

[Skittles]

45. STOP thinking "covid-19 cannot infect me"

IT CAN, stop peddling such reckless advice here

and by the way, AGE has nothing to do with wisdom, we can see that with DONALD TRUMP

*DONE HERE*

[at140]

54. OK Doctor skittles!

I dispense no advice. I simply post MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with covid-19.
Learn from it or ignore it. Both OK with me.

[RhodeIslandOne]

51. And it's spiking!

Good lord, man....pay attention!

[at140]

53. Here in NE Florida hospitals are empty,,,,

there are no spikes. I go the hospital every 3 weeks with my wife who gets treatments and other test-scans for her stage-4 cancer.
From what I am reading the spikes are in Miami-Dade county. I do not know what we are doing correct here in St John's county or what they are doing wrong in Miami-Dade.

Again, I repeat, based on my example as a 80 year old, and my 66 year old wife with advanced cancer, wash hands with SOAP before you touch your face. Hand sanitizer is not as good as soap. Sanitizer kills bacteria. Covid-19 is a virus, not bacteria. Virus has a protective shell made of fat.
Soap dissolves the fat layer and that kills the virus cell. Dawn dish washing liquid works best. Read my post above of all the things I have been doing in Feb-March-April-May-June. And no symptoms of covid-19.

[OhioChick]

48. You're joking, right?

Fauci has even said that Covid-19 will be with us for a very long time.

Both my kids are in the healthcare field and they said it's a sea of Covid out there, increasing daily.

I don't know where you're getting your misinformation from but from what I'm told, Covid-19 is hitting many, not only the elderly and those with health problems.

Healthy, younger people are dying and it's not going to magically just go away in September.

[at140]

56. Every disease will be with us for ever...killing 2.5 Million Americans every year

I grew up in virus infested India. I was deathly ill with small pox in 1948 as a young child. And influenza every year.
My brother had polio and deformed his legs permanently.
Influenza kills millions world wide every year. So yeah, we have to live with the diseases.
We will never ever be disease free.

[albacore]

57. St. John's county has 500 active cases and 7 deaths

My county in Washington... same population as St. John's county.... has 190 cases and 2 deaths. The stats have flattened out. The deaths in my county occurred in April. Our governor...Inslee... has done it all right. Masks, stay-home, distancing, closing businesses...
The counties around you have similar or worse numbers than yours does. St John's county ranks 27 out of the 68 counties in Florida in Covid cases. .
And you are wrong about the virus hitting only the old. The largest number of cases are in the 25-34 age range.
I don't know where you get your information, but that kind of information can kill you.

[at140]

58. But we are enjoying life more here!

The beaches are full, all my favorite restaurants are open, museums are all open, bars are open, and 7 deaths in a population of 243,928 is 0.002% of the population. Nothing to fear and crawl into your basement for. I do not fear viruses having grown up in virus infested India.

[Hortensis]

7. Even Chris Wallace isn't interested in Biden-bashing? According to

the AP's brutal coverage, even fervent loyalists weren't energized by Trump's bashes of VP Biden.

"But Trump has struggled to land effective attacks against Biden, and his broadsides against the former vice president did not draw nearly the applause as did his digs at his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton."

[TheBlackAdder]

8. Most reporters are easily redirected, allowing the interviewee to control the interview.

.

It's refreshing to see Chris Wallace not take that redirection.

Trump loses his shit if asked the same question three times, because most people like him realize they are trapped. If they can't redirect, just watch their brain short circuit. They will end the interview, become hostile, lose their shit or a combination.

.

[TlalocW]

9. I've won more arguments over the last few years

When I've refused to let other people try to, "What about," me. A killer line to use is, "Look, I understand you can't defend <whatever> so if you want to talk about something else, I understand."

TlalocW

[dalton99a]

20. +1.

[renate]

28. I'll remember that!

Thanks!

[smirkymonkey]

10. Ugh! Matt Schlapp's deplorable, gish-galloping wife!

The bullshit they come up with to try to deny reality is amazing. I wonder if they really believe this shit or if it's just something they have to do for a paycheck.

She's just horrible!

[albacore]

13. Schlapp...."I'd love to see a Joe Biden rally." ?????

If Joe Biden held a rally... at all... I'd be pissed at him for endangering the lives of the attendees.

NO fucking rallies!

[Blue_true]

23. I think that he can hold a rally and require that all attendees wear masks

and observe social distancing. I would certainly attend such a rally.

We needs to be science driven. There appears to be developing evidence that everyone wearing masks properly can pretty much remove the risk of infection. I say that his campaign people need to monitor that and plan smart rallies.

[Thekaspervote]

31. No!! Just no

[Blue_true]

33. You make your choices and that is fine.

I would attend a rally wearing a properly worn mask and disposable gloves, and I would expect Joe to inform other people to at least wear a properly worn mask, with pictures at the entrance on what "properly worn" means and checkers to stop people who don't get it from entering.

If you think that Joe will be able to stay in his basement and win with Trump out and about, you have grossly miscalculated, IMO. At some point Joe will have the "fear" narrative attached to him and that will hurt him. We need smart, safe and well organized rallies. Developing data says relying on mask wearing and social distancing can allow us to accomplish those goals.

[albacore]

47. Why chance it? Biden has months to stir the faithful.

The electronic campaign reaches more people, and uses modern advertising psychology to impact opinion.

Pep rallies are SO high school... and 20th Century high school at that. And a socially-distanced rally would look sparse and pathetic.

I've seen the Lincoln Project ads, and they are deadly. Why cram everybody into a venue now, when the media offers a much broader audience? How about some crushing ads? Why not offer a contrast to trump?

I love Biden... and Warren... but I wouldn't be in any mass crowd

[Squidly]

52. He could also stream a virtual rally as well

I think that could be very effective and might actually reach more people.

[MoonlitKnight]

49. We don't need rallys

We know who to vote for and don’t have a need to be part of a cult to feel better about our decisions.

[Blue_true]

59. Are you willing to in-person vote is Trump succeeds in

reducing mail-in ballots? Trump and Barr are trying to force you to make a choice between in-person voting and staying home to avoid even the slightest chance of becoming ill. Rallies appear to be a test of whether that approach will work, and to be frank, they appear to be making a good bet. Republican voters are indicating that they will vote in person instead of vote by mail, democrats are indicating the opposite. All Trump and Barr need to do is pressure key states like Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to make voting by mail difficult, which should not be much of a challenge for them since all voting in those states are controlled by republican SOSs or powerful republican legistlatures (Penn and Wis).

Honestly, I don't want to hear a lecture about climate change, LGBTQ rights, social justice reform, income inequality, women's rights, from a person that indicates that it is vote by mail only for them - I just don't want to read anything they have to say. Because the very future of all those issues are being decided in this election, and anyone who is not willing to take precautions and vote in person if that is what Trump forces on us, like he and Barr are diligently working to do, is at best a poser in my worldview. I don't want to read those people writing about the world they are leaving behind for their children and grandchildren, because if they can't fucking see what Trump is working toward on voting and rallies and choose instead to not even try to analyze how to minimize risk to them while voting or going to a rally, then their words are empty, IMO.

An increasing amount of data is implying that when large groups gather, if they all are properly wearing mask, no measurable increase in infection rates happen. The data is very emperical but it seems to be pointing to a way that we can defeat Trump's efforts to suppress our vote. The world that some here always seem to write about starts with the November voting cycle, it is clear that Trump plans to force us all to vote in person, his MAGATS are indicating that they are ok with that, will we face them down or will we ignore data to cling to our sense of maximum personal safety? Trump is betting that if he manipulate things the way that he wants them, large numbers of us will not vote in person, seeing that as risky.

[RainCaster]

14. Look- it's Halleys Comet!

Anything to deflect.

[louis-t]

15. Watched one minute of it.

She was babbling on and on and wouldn't shut up. Desperate.

[Blue_true]

24. That is what they do. nt

[Beartracks]

16. The Trump campaign MADE attendance the story.

The media is focusing on the low attendance because Trump and his people made such a YUGE DEAL about how many people were going to come see him.

============

[elleng]

18. 'Frankly, it makes you guys look silly when you deny the reality of what happened."'

[spanone]

21. I'd like to schlapp her and her hubby

[George II]

19. Chris Wallace seems to get better and better every week. Wonder if he's seeing ghosts of his father?

[elleng]

22. Seems his father's shadow's been with him for a long time.

[jaxexpat]

26. Chris Wallace has gotten a pass from day one because of his father.

He's slowly gaining some gravitas. Almost catching up to the hype.
Fox wanted Wallace to be their counter to CNN's Wolf Blitzer. I'd say they've about succeeded on that.
Would like to see Chet Huntley, Harry Reasoner or Walter Cronkite's take on the current events of our time. Would especially like to have The McNeil-Lehrer News Hour back.
Mike Wallace always struck me as a bit of a muckraker. He never seemed interested unless there was a sensationalist angle to exploit.

[Larry Moecurley]

25. DW News:

[ecstatic]

50. Love it, but yikes @ the cough! That reporter better mask up.

He's standing at the new ground zero for covid-19.

ETA: cough was due to pepper spray

[Traildogbob]

29. Family oriented??

Is she talking about sister wives, cousin wives, telephone pole family trees? Sure looked like a shallow gene pool there. They were probably all kin folk. Strutting around outside with weapons of war, is that considered family atmosphere. Somebody Schlapp some sense in that cultist. Sorry for the “C” word describing a woman.

[Marty Marzipan]

30. "The phenomenon of the rally came because of President Trump" Really?

I thought the phenomenon of the rally came because of Adolf Hitler. Anybody see Triumph of the Will?

[brush]

37. And Sanders in 2016, although his rallies didn't always translate to votes.

[WyattKansas]

46. The Media really needs to dig into the Trump campaigners when they bring up Biden...

Immediately tell them, when Biden gives speeches on the current events, the government, and the crisis the country is in, he is actually very Presidential compared to Disaster Donnie.

Let it grind into them, with Disaster Donnie watching the interviews from his spider hole. Lets see if his hacks can take the pressure.

[Stuart G]

55. K and R...Thank You for posting..