Trump's helicopter 'walk of shame' widely mocked online following Tulsa rally

More than two-thirds of rally arena left vacant

President Donald Trump was caught on camera looking “deflated” on his way back from his disappointing first campaign rally in three months since the outbreak of coronavirus on Saturday, and the Internet noticed.

The rally, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, proved to have a disappointing turnout with just over 6,000 people turning up to the event at the 19,000 capacity BOK arena.

More than two-thirds of the stadium was left vacant, and an outdoor overflow area set up outside in anticipation of the large crowds was closed down when it was clear it would not be filled.

Mr Trump had previously claimed that almost one million people had requested tickets for the rally, which had been surrounded in controversy after being initially planned to be held on Juneteenth.

While some have speculated that the coronavirus may have kept people away, another theory claimed an alliance of teenage TikTok users and K-Pop fans registered hundreds of thousands of tickets for the rally with no intention of attending.

Mr Trump was seen on his returned back to Washington disembarking the Marine One after the rally with his white shirt left open, his tie undone, and a signature Make America Great Again hat hanging from his hand.

Social media users were quick to latch onto the footage of the president, poking fun at his seemingly disappointed appearance.

Many pointed out that they thought the president looked “dejected” and “defeated”.

Other users took to adding sad soundtracks to the footage, turning the moment into a meme after branding it the president’s “walk of shame”.

One user gave the footage the soundtrack of Foreigner’s “I want to know what love is”, gaining over 6000 likes and 2100 retweets. Another used the track “Hello darkness my old friend” by Simon & Garfunkel.

“I can’t stop watching this. This is the greatest video ever. It’s like a kid who had a birthday party and no one showed up,” one user said about the meme.

‘Walking into work Monday morning like,’ a user posted alongside a screen grab of Mr Trump walking from the plane.

Other users took the footage more seriously, stating that the president has not always looked so concerned.

“Think about this: Trump looks worse coming off of Marine One after one poorly attended rally than he’s looked at any point during this pandemic or economic crisis. He doesn’t care about you, He doesn’t care about you, #MAGA. He just doesn’t,” one user tweeted.

The president was reportedly “furious” after the disappointing turnout, and the campaign claimed 12,000 people had attended the event.

The team also said that civil rights protestors had blocked entryways for audience members leading up to the rally.

The Associated Press insisted in a fact check of a claim that protesters’ blockades were not to blame for the turnout and that demonstrators were not blocking entry points.