Berks rally set bad example for public health

In a normal year, we would have been pleased to welcome President Donald Trump to southeastern Pennsyvlvania to hold a campaign rally in nearby Berks County.

The outer-rim suburbs are routinely overlooked by our nation’s top politicians. Pennsylvania has been the focus of inordinate attention over the last few election cycles, with national candidates crisscrossing the state. Yet we rarely see presidential candidates here. There have been visits by the vice president and campaign surrogates. Those are nice, but there’s something special about a presidential visit.

While the region did take some satisfaction in getting time in the national spotlight on Oct. 31, our enthusiasm was dampened considerably by the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the event.

In the midst of a deadly pandemic that is getting much worse here and across Pennsylvania and the country, there were thousands of people gathered in close quarters, and many of them were not wearing masks.

We were particularly troubled by the participation of Berks County commissioners Christian Y. Leinbach and Michael Rivera, who have been leading the effort in that county to encourage public compliance with measures meant to safeguard public health in this challenging time.

Berks County leaders have done a good job of spreading the word in their “Do Your Part-Stop the Spread” campaign. Here are some key pieces of advice they have shared with the people of Berks: Keep at least 6 feet between yourself and others; do not attend or host large gatherings; wear a mask when going out in public. Many were disregarding those rules during Saturday’s event at Reading Regional Airport.

Leinbach said he was happy to do his part to help support Trump’s reelection effort and defended his participation in the event by saying: “I understand that someone who is not a Trump supporter can find all the things that are wrong with the timing of this event because of the coronavirus cases we are seeing. But this is historical and there’s no other way to do this so you do what you can.”

That is a most disappointing answer. Being concerned about events that pose a danger of spreading the virus does not necessarily have anything to do with supporting or not supporting the president. After all, the health guidelines we’re talking about come from Trump’s own administration. The county under Leinbach’s leadership has done a good job of emphasizing the urgency of the health danger rather than getting the message mixed up in politics. It’s a shame to undermine that effort at this particularly dangerous moment.

This is especially relevant in light of recent COVID-19 positivity rates that showed Berks at above 9 percent. As Montgomery County leaders routinely point out, the virus doesn’t observe boundaries, so what happens in Berks affects the rest of the region.

Of course we’re well aware that the president’s appearance was a very big deal, and that Republican office holders such as Leinbach and Rivera would feel obligated to attend and put aside any possible objections to the format. The president put many such officials in a difficult position with his insistence on conducting rallies that flout social distancing rules.

We reject the notion that there was “no other way to do this.” It’s quite possible to conduct a campaign without holding big events with large crowds in close proximity. Trump just decided he was going to do it anyway.

Republicans were right to criticize Gov. Tom Wolf for participating in a protest march back in June while much of the state was still living under major restrictions he had imposed. It was wrong to put politics ahead of public health then, and it’s wrong now.

When our political leaders set poor examples in this regard, it is a slap in the face to so many of us who have had to cancel or reconfigure important activities in our own lives over these long months.

In the coming weeks people will be faced with agonizing decisions about how to observe Thanksgiving and Christmas. The right thing to do is to seek alternatives to large, in-person gatherings for the sake of everyone’s health. We urge people to follow that advice and not let the hypocrisy of some of our leaders lead them astray.