Virus hits 130 Secret Service agents; Trump’s rallies blamed

More than 130 U.S. Secret Service agents protecting President Trump have recently been forced into quarantine because they either tested positive for COVID-19 or were in close contact with coworkers who did, according to a report Friday.

The troubling spread of the virus through Secret Service ranks is believed tied to Trump’s blitz of campaign rallies across the country in the week leading up to the Nov. 3 election, three sources familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

Desperate to gin up enthusiasm among his supporters, Trump held 14 jam-packed rallies in seven states in just the last three days before the election.

As was customary through the 2020 campaign, few of Trump’s supporters wore masks or socially distanced during the rallies, putting themselves and the president’s accompanying Secret Service agents at serious risk of infection.

Trump, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 last month, falsely insisted during the final stretch of the campaign that the virus was on the retreat and nothing to worry about.

“If you get it, you’re going to get better, and then you’re going to be immune, and it’s a whole thing and it goes away,” Trump said at a rally in Waterford Township, Mich., on Oct. 30, even though there’s no evidence COVID-19 patients develop immunity.

News of the Secret Service outbreak comes as the pandemic is resurging in catastrophic numbers across the country, with the U.S. reporting a record-shattering 152,000 new cases on Thursday. The U.S. death toll has surged above 240,000.

The White House declined to comment on Friday.

Julia McMurray, a Secret Service spokeswoman, said, “The Secret Service is not releasing how many of its employees have tested positive for COVID-19, nor how many of its employees were, or currently are, quarantined.”

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) squarely blamed Trump for the outbreak.

“The Secret Service officers who put their lives on the line to protect our leaders are courageous professionals, but Donald Trump has shown callous indifference to their health and safety,” Beyer said.