No one appeared concerned about social distancing. Few wore masks. Some told reporters they had not been tested for the coronavirus
It was a stunning scene in a country where parents and children have been laid to rest without their loved ones present, schools have gone to online-only learning and businesses have shut their doors to halt the spread of the coronavirus. On Thursday night, about 1,500 people gathered on the South Lawn of the White House so President Donald Trump could accept his party’s nomination for reelection in front of a roaring crowd. Masks were not required and chairs were placed inches apart from one another, with no room for social distancing, in violation of endless public health recommendations.
Only those the White House expected to be in “close proximity” to the president and vice president had been tested for COVID-19. As Trump has tried to push past a pandemic that has tanked the economy and threatened his reelection chances, GOP organisers have worked to stage a convention that puts the virus in the rear view mirror and highlights the nation’s progress, even as it continues to spread.
More than 42,000 new cases were reported Wednesday and 2,700 more have died since the week began. But few convention speakers made reference to the virus, while others have discussed it in the past tense. It was awful. Health and economic impacts were tragic, said White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on the convention’s second night. But presidential leadership came swiftly and effectively with an extraordinary rescue for health and safety to successfully fight the COVID virus.
