The president, who revels in large crowds and had predicted that his first rally in months would be epic, blamed the media for discouraging attendees and cited bad behavior by demonstrators outside, but did not specifically acknowledge that many seats in the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena were empty.

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Trump has brushed aside criticism for his decision to hold his first rally since March 2 in Tulsa, the site of the country's bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence against Black Americans some 100 years ago.

The president, who has encouraged a militaristic response to the nationwide demonstrations while being accused of showing a lack of empathy for the plight of black Americans, used his speech to take aim at some of the protesters.

"The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our monuments - our beautiful monuments - tear down our statues and punish, cancel, and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control. We're not conforming," Trump told cheering supporters.

Ahead of the Nov. 3 election, the Republican president is trailing in opinion polls to Biden, who has hammered Trump for his response to the protests and the pandemic.

Trump defended his response to COVID-19, saying more testing had led to identifying more cases, seemingly to his chagrin.

"When you do testing to that extent, you're going to ... find more cases," he said. "So, I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please.'" A White House official said he was "obviously kidding" with that remark.

Hours before the rally, Trump's campaign announced six members of its advance team had tested positive for COVID-19. Only a handful of attendees wore masks inside the arena.

Oklahoma has reported a surge in new coronavirus cases in recent days, and the state's department of health warned that attendees face an increased risk of catching the virus.

While Trump campaign officials said prior to the event that demand far outstripped the capacity of the venue, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence canceled speeches to an expected "overflow" crowd after a few dozen supporters showed up to a space prepared for thousands. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said protesters had "interfered with supporters" trying to enter the rally.

There were some shouting matches and scuffles outside the event between around 30 Black Lives Matter demonstrators and some Trump supporters waiting to enter. There was no sign that any Trump supporters were prevented from entering the arena or overflow area.

Trump warned that, unless he was re-elected, all Americans would endure the "chaos you're seeing in our Democratic-run cities."

"When you see those lunatics all over the streets, it's damn nice to have arms," he said, vowing to protect Americans' rights to bear arms. "Our people are not nearly as violent, but if they ever were it would be a terrible, terrible day for the other side."

The country's racial divide remains a political vulnerability for Trump. His "law and order" reaction to the protests triggered by Floyd's death has put him at odds with the views of most Americans.

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Bloomberg's team announced last week that the mega-billionaire is seriously contemplating a White House bid in 2020. He has already qualified to appear on the Alabama primary ballot and is scrambling to make Arkansas as well, which has a Tuesday deadline.

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Although his campaign is in its nascent stages, he's gained a valuable endorsement in Sheindlin, whose popular TV show, Judge Judy, nabs some 10 million viewers an episode.

"Parties have become so angry with each other that nothing is happening. The American public is paying for a very expensive system...and we're not getting anything done. Bridges, roads aren't getting built, because everybody is so busy hating each other. Michael Bloomberg is the only answer [to this problem,]" Sheindlin declared when speaking to comedian Bill Maher on his HBO show, Real Time With Bill Maher on Friday.

"If you think about it, Michael Bloomberg is the only person running who has over a decade of executive experience running the largest city in the United States," she added. "Let's say your doctor told you tomorrow, 'Hey kid, I hate to tell you this, but you need a new valve in your heart. Would you then look for the best podiatrist in town?"

Unimpressed with the analogy Maher retorted, "People vote with their gut. I like Mike Bloomberg...but I don't see a big city Jew exciting the vote in Alabama or a lot of the country."

Undeterred, the no-nonsense Sheindlin shot back, "But if we're talking seriously and looking at someone who has both the experience and has had the capacity in over 12 years to run one of the most diverse places in the world ... people should care about that."

"There is nothing wrong with a man that came from nothing realizing the American dream... To define @MikeBloomberg as a billionaire is an injustice." – @JudgeJudy #RealTime pic.twitter.com/5nC1xG3Jah

— Real Time (@RealTimers) November 9, 2019

Maher maintained that the election will be won in just a few key swing states, all places that are unlikely to fall Bloomberg's way.

"The election will be decided in a few states: Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania," he said.

He also pointed to Bloomberg's connection big money in Wall Street as a possible hindrance to him securing the nomination in a party that has begun to advocate for more socialist policies.

Ever optimistic, Sheindlin dismissed that take, saying, "You're always going to have naysayers. There's nothing wrong with a man who came from nothing, realizing the American Dream. I realized the American Dream - they put a 52-year-old woman on television that nobody knew and said, 'go be a star.' That's like winning the lottery. Nothing is impossible."

"To define Mike Bloomberg as a billionaire is an injustice. Mike Bloomberg was the mayor of New York and self-made guy," she said, sticking to her guns.

Despite there being only three months until the primary season begins, Bloomberg is thinking about throwing his hat into the ring because he's unconvinced the current crop of candidates can unseat US President Donald Trump.

As for Trump, he doesn't seem threatened by the prospect of facing another New York billionaire head-on.

"Little Michael will fail," Trump said at the White House, adding, "There is nobody I'd rather run against than Little Michael, that I can tell you."

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The issue hits particularly close to home for Biden, whose son, Beau, died in 2015 at the age of 46, after suffering from brain cancer.

At a campaign event in Ottumwa, Iowa, on Tuesday, Biden expressed the difficulty one faces with a loss of a family member: "A lot of you understand what loss is and when loss occurs, you know that people come up to you and tell you 'I understand' if you lose a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter, a family member. They say, 'I know how you feel' when in reality they have no idea how I feel."

"That's why I've worked so hard in my career, that I promise you, if I'm elected president you're going to see the single most important thing that changes America, we're going to cure cancer," Biden declared.

While working in the Obama administration, Biden was responsible for the "Cancer Moonshot" initiative, which "accelerates cancer research aims to make more therapies available to more patients, while also improving our ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage," according to the organization's website.

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