Trump, Pence events signal lax approach to virus
DES MOINES — Sitting and standing shoulder to shoulder, some without face masks, hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump jammed into an airplane hangar for an Arizona campaign event this week, ignoring the advice of Trump’s own health experts.
Like his boss, Vice President Mike Pence went maskless in Iowa last week as he reached across a barrier to autograph a half-dozen familiar red Trump campaign hats, literally crossing the line of vulnerability outlined by the coronavirus task force he heads.
The episodes, along with similar ones in New Jersey, Florida and Wisconsin, project a confusing message to the public even as Trump and Pence are trying to secure the confidence of Americans during a global pandemic and in the lead-up to the November election.
“It sends a mixed message. I think if you are making guidance for the general public, you should follow the guidance,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “The guidance they are putting out is very unambiguous about these types of situations. I do think they are undermining their own work.”
The White House says the president and vice president observe federal health guidelines, as well as those in place in the states they visit. Trips are planned with input from the presidential medical staff, and the president, vice president and senior staff are regularly tested.
But in Wisconsin on Monday, Trump absolved his audience of health precautions, along the way mocking the racial justice protests he has railed against for weeks.
In an aircraft hangar in Oshkosh, Trump flaunted violations of the state’s distancing and masking guidelines — recommendations also promoted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — as he spoke to hundreds of supporters, most not wearing face coverings.
“This was supposed to be just a quick, little small gathering,” Trump said, joking that “We’re supposed to have 50 people, right?”
“We’ll call it a peaceful protest, that way we can do whatever we want,” Trump added.