Donald Trump held yet another potential super spreader event on the White House Lawn which eschewed social distancing and lacked widespread mask wearing. This time making the hazards of a Trump event go global, as leaders attending the super spreader event head home after today’s signing ceremony.
[Twitter, @markknoller, 9/15/20]
So today, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room is releasing a new video that shows the full extent and danger of Trump’s repeated attacks on mask wearing. He has ignored his own experts’ advice, mocked people wearing masks, and refused to lead by example by regularly wearing one in public.
Whether at an illegal indoor campaign rally in Nevada or at today’s signing ceremony on the White House lawn, Trump continues to show he’s still determined to endanger Americans by ignoring the simplest mitigation efforts.
Watch the New Video Here.
Background on how Trump has ridiculed mask-wearing throughout the pandemic:
On September 13, Trump Held An Indoor Campaign Rally In Henderson, Nevada Where Attendees Were Not Required To Wear Masks Or Practice Social Distancing.
- “Thousands of Mr. Trump’s supporters crowded into a manufacturing hall in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb, most of them forgoing face masks and not socially distanced, violating Nevada’s pandemic rules limiting social gatherings to 50 people or fewer. Mr. Trump’s supporters were crammed together on white folding chairs on the floor of the Xtreme Manufacturing plant for his first indoor rally since June 20 in Tulsa.” [Washington Post, 9/15/20]
Few Attendees Were Wearing Masks And There Was No Social Distancing During Trump’s Republican National Convention Speech At The White House.
- “Trump spoke to a crowd of about 1,500 people as he accepted his party’s nomination during the Republican National Convention in an ethics-defying political event at the White House. ‘Forget the Hatch Act violations,’ Tapper said, referring to ethics rules against political use of government property. ‘We’re getting into a matter of life and death here.’ The seats were spaced close together, with no social distancing measures in place, and few masks were seen among the attendees ― most of whom were not tested before entering the event.” [HuffPost, 8/28/20]
Even As President Trump Finally Encouraged Mask-Wearing On July 21, He Also Baselessly Told Reporters: “In Theory, You Don’t Need The Mask.”
- “Despite his insistence during his prepared remarks that American embrace widespread mask usage, during reporter questions, the president took a softer stance on them, saying without evidence: ‘In theory, you don’t need the mask,’ but acknowledging that he was growing more comfortable with wearing them.” [NPR, 7/21/20]
On June 20, Trump Flouted CDC Guidelines And Did Not Require Mask Wearing During His Indoor Rally In Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- “Inside, virtually none of those assembled in front of the stage wore masks, and few throughout the rest of the arena had face covers. The few who did were vastly outnumbered by those who did not. ‘What we are seeing at this rally is a very overt denial’ that coronavirus still poses a health danger, Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, said on MSNBC. ‘How bizarre has this gotten?’” [NBC News, 6/20/20]
On June 19, Trump Claimed Americans Were Wearing Facemasks Only To Signal Disapproval Of Him.
- “Mr. Trump said testing for Covid-19 was overrated and allowed for the possibility that some Americans wore facial coverings not as a preventive measure but as a way to signal disapproval of him. Many public-health experts say testing followed by quarantining sick individuals and their close contacts is crucial to contain the spread of the virus.” [Wall Street Journal, 7/19/20]
Trump Baselessly Claimed That Mask Wearing Was Contributing To Increased Infections Because People Touch Their Faces While Wearing Them.
- “The president said his bigger problem with masks was that many people fidget with the coverings, which he said made them more likely to be infected. The federal-government guidelines stipulate that wearing cloth face coverings helps slow the spread of Covid-19 and recommends washing hands before putting on the mask. ‘They put their finger on the mask, and they take them off, and then they start touching their eyes and touching their nose and their mouth,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘And then they don’t know how they caught it?’” [Wall Street Journal, 7/19/20]
Trump Accused A Reporter On May 26 Of Only Wearing A Mask At The White House Because He Wanted To Be “Politically Correct.”
- “President Donald Trump suggested to a news reporter they were being ‘politically correct’ for wearing a face mask during a press conference at the Rose Garden of the White House on Tuesday afternoon. Trump, who was speaking about federal assistance for senior citizens with diabetes, was answering two questions from Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason. The president was asked about his remarks about former Vice President Joe Biden’s decision to wear a mask outside in public on Memorial Day weekend, and about Trump fueling a debunked conspiracy theory in recent days.” [Business Insider, 5/26/20]
On May 26, President Trump Even Mocked Vice President Joe Biden For Wearing A Mask In Public.
- “President Donald Trump on Monday shared a tweet mocking his presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential challenger, Joe Biden, for wearing a face mask during a public appearance for Memorial Day. ‘This might help explain why Trump doesn’t like to wear a mask in public. Biden today,’ said the message by Brit Hume, a Fox News political commentator, alongside a message of Biden wearing a black mask and sunglasses.” [Business Insider, 5/26/20]
Full transcript of the video:
TRUMP: Well, I don’t know. We’re going to look at it. A lot of people have asked me that question.
REPORTER: The nagging question ahead of President Donald Trump’s trip to the crucial election battleground state.
President Trump again refused to wear a mask in public.
President Trump says he’s not going to wear a mask.
Everyone socially distanced and everyone wearing masks except him.
TRUMP: Can you take it off because I cannot hear you?
REPORTER: I’ll just speak louder, sir.
TRUMP: Oh, okay because you want to be politically correct. Go ahead.
TRUMP: Did you ever see a man that likes a mask as much as him?
BIDEN: Wearing one of these masks when you’re outside is not a partisan issue.
REPORTER: Crowds line up early for President Trump’s first rally in months.
President Trump rallying some 1,400 supporters in New Hampshire.
Event organizers asked people in the crowd to put on a mask and get this, people in the crowd started booing. We have some video of that, let’s take a look.
[crowd booing]
There’s no social distancing, there were no masks, the chairs were about six to eight inches apart. This was something that indeed could become a super spreader event.
TRUMP: I don’t know how many people are here, but there’s a lot.
[cheering]
We said let’s keep it down. They didn’t do too good a job, but that’s good, right?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: I’m as concerned about the virus as I am about every yearly flu.
TRUMP SUPPORTER: There’s no COVID-19. It’s a fake pandemic.
REDLENER: You don’t need the MAGA hat everyone knows where you stand if you’re not wearing a face mask.
FRIEDEN: It’s important to wear a face mask.
GUPTA: There have been studies on this. It says it can decrease transmission by about six fold. You can wear a mask and you can have a chance to be a part of a movement that helps save 70,000 lives and you say, ‘You know what, screw it. I still ain’t gonna do it.’ I mean that’s really discouraging.
COLLINS: If something that is so straightforward can somehow get twisted into decision making that really makes no sense. So I’m, as a scientist, I’m pretty puzzled and are rather disheartened.
FAUCI: You may or may not want to wear a mask which means it may or it may not be helpful. That’s a very confusing signal. The signal should be wear a mask, period.