Exclusive: Internal documents show officials waved red flags before Trump's Tulsa rally | TheHill

“As the state epidemiologist, I feel I have a responsibility to speak out and warn of the estimated risk.”In an internal risk analysis, Wendelboe, who left the department after his contract expired this summer, estimated that the event would likely lead to “at least 2 deaths and probably closer to 10.”Five days before the event, in a separate email to Tulsa Health Department Director Bruce Dart, Wendelboe wrote: “I’m not sure of any instance where we would hold a public event and say, ‘...and by the way, there is a chance that attending this could lead to a minimum of two deaths.’”Wendelboe referred questions about his warnings to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.The Trump campaign had anticipated a crowded event at Tulsa’s BOK Center and had set up a stage outside the event for speeches in addition to the main event that was held inside.Instead, perhaps in part because of the worries of the coronavirus at the time, only 6,200 people attended the rally, where Trump spoke for roughly 100 minutes. — the first for Trump since the Tulsa gathering.The event attracted criticism from public health experts, but the Trump campaign defended it, saying it was held under precautions for public health.“If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino, or burn down small businesses in riots, you can gather peacefully under the 1st Amendment to hear from the President of the United States,” Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s 2020 communications director, said in a statement.Ahead of Trump’s Tulsa rally, there were clear differences between public health officials in the state and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who had invited Trump to the city.