Trump defies rules amid ‘peaceful protest’ rallies
President WASHINGTON —
Donald Trump is running as the “law and order” candidate. But that hasn’t stopped him and his campaign from openly defying state emergency orders and flouting his own administration’s coronavirus guidelines as he holds ever-growing rallies in battleground states.
Democratic governorsand local leaders have urged the president to reconsider the events, warning that he’s putting lives at risk. But they have largely not tried to block the gatherings of thousands of people, which Trump and his team deem “peaceful protests” protected by the First Amendment.
“If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino, or burn downsmall businesses in riots, you can
gather peacefully under the 1stAmendmentto hear from the President of the United States,” Tim Murtaugh, a Trump campaign spokesperson, said in a statement.
Trump’s refusal to abide by health guidelines — even those crafted by his own administration — underscores
the extent to which he believes projecting an image of normalcy is vital to winning in November, even as the country approaches 200,000 deaths from COVID-19.
Trump has tried to use this summer’s mass protests over racial injustice and police misconduct as cover for his rallies, making the case that, if demonstrators can gather en masse, so can his supporters. So far, Democratic governors have declined to stand in his way, refusing to become a foil to Trump and feed into his narrative that liberals are trying to deny Republicans their First Amendment rights.
Trump’s c ampaign insisted that it takes appropriate health precautions, including handing out masks and hand sanitizer and checking the temperatures of rallygoers.
But images of thousands of maskless supporters standing shoulder to shoulder remain jarring in a country where sports are still played inemptyarenasandconcerts have been largely banned. That’s especially true for those who have lost loved ones or spent months isolating at home and worry that rallies will further spread infection, undermining hardfought progress. An indoor rally that Trump held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June was blamed for a surge of virus infections there.
Trump held an indoor rally at theXtremeManufacturing facility inHenderson, Nevada, on Sunday night. The state restricts gatherings to 50 people — based on White House reopening guidelines — but thousands of supporters packed into thewarehouse space nonetheless. Relatively few people wore masks.
“This is an insult to every Nevadan who has followed the directives, made sacrifices, and put their neighbors before themselves,” said Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat.
The city of Henderson on Monday announced that it was fining Xtreme Manufacturing $3,000. Sisolak slammedthe rally as “shameful, dangerous and irresponsible.” But it does not appear the governorwould try to prevent a replay. If Trump returns to the state for another rally, saidCOVID19 response director Caleb Cage, state officials will continue to encourage his campaign to followstate lawand directives.
In some other states, the rallies are legal. In North Carolina, an order signed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper limits outdoor gatherings to 50 people and mandates masks in public, but “activities constituting the exercise of First Amendment rights” are exempt.
The state’s top public health official, Dr. Mandy Cohen, played down calls for stricter enforcement last week as she criticized Trump for holding a rally at theWinston-Salem airport, where thousands of supporters crammed together without masks.