Maskless White House Audience Could Spread COVID Back Home
With no social distancing and few masks in use, 1,500 Trump campaign supporters crowded together to hear Donald Trump's convention speech Thursday night. Public health experts worry that guests could have been infected. Meanwhile, the political conventions did not much change impressions of Trump or Joe Biden.
AP:
Health Experts Decry Trump's Shunning Of Virus Rules
Public health experts expressed concern Friday about President Donald Trump’s largely mask-free, socially un-distanced Republican convention event on the White House lawn, saying some of his 1,500 guests may have inadvertently brought and spread the coronavirus to others. “There almost certainly were individuals there who were infected with COVID-19 but don’t know it,” said Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University. (Superville and Riechmann, 8/30)
CNN:
Lara Trump Says Campaign 'Always Following The Guidelines' Despite Few Masks, Lack Of Social Distancing At RNC
Senior Trump campaign adviser Lara Trump on Sunday said the campaign "always encourage(s) people to follow the guidelines" from health officials on the coronavirus, despite few masks and a lack of social distancing during in-person Republican convention events last week. "Well, look, we always, whether it's at this event you saw at the White House or at any campaign event, we always encourage people to follow the guidelines and to do what they think is best for themselves," Lara Trump told host Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." (Judd, 8/30)
ABC News:
Trump's Favorability And Perceptions Of COVID-19 Response Stagnate Post-Convention: POLL
President Donald Trump's efforts to build his appeal and define his opponent at the Republican National Convention, using pageantry and the White House as the backdrop, had little apparent impact on the electorate's impressions of both him and former Vice President Joe Biden, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds. Trump's week of celebration did not improve his favorability, even among his own base, and the country still remains widely critical of his handling of the major crisis of his presidency: COVID-19. (Karson, 8/30)
In other election news —
The Washington Post:
Biden To Resume In-Person Campaigning As Race With Trump Kicks Into Gear
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will resume in-person campaigning across the country in coming days amid the still-raging coronavirus pandemic, an answer to allies imploring him to meet voters where they are and a sign that his race with President Trump is tightening as the general election contest begins in earnest. (Rucker and Linskey, 8/29)
The New York Times:
U.S. Will Revive Global Virus-Hunting Effort Ended Last Year
Joseph R. Biden Jr. has promised that, if elected, he will restore a worldwide virus-hunting program that was allowed to expire last year by the Trump administration. The program, called Predict, searched for dangerous new animal viruses in bat caves, camel pens, wet markets and wildlife-smuggling routes around the globe. The expiration of Predict just weeks before the advent of the pandemic prompted wide criticism among scientists, who noted that the coronavirus is exactly the sort of catastrophic animal virus the program was designed to head off. (McNeil Jr. and Kaplan, 8/30)
The Hill:
Trump, Biden Clash Intensifies Over COVID-19 Response
The battle over sharply different responses to the coronavirus is escalating between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, with Democrats pointing to the heavy death toll and Republicans projecting optimism. With the election drawing near, the vastly different approaches to COVID-19 are veering further apart even as scrutiny rises. (Sullivan, 8/29)
Also —
AP:
2 Kansas Doctors But Differing COVID-19 Takes In Senate Race
U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall’s audience of about 40 people packed a banquet room in a Kansas City-area bistro. No one wore a mask during his lunchtime remarks about the coronavirus. The Republican nominee for Kansas’ open Senate seat put one on later while talking to masked reporters but dropped it for a moment, saying, “I can’t breathe.” A few days earlier, Democrat Barbara Bollier invited half a dozen local officials and activists to her first in-person event of the fall campaign. They stood in a socially distanced circle outside an elementary school empty of students in Manhattan in northeast Kansas. (Hanna, 8/29)
AP:
Coronavirus Worries Force Election Officials To Get Creative
The coronavirus has upended everyday life in ways big and small. What happens when those disruptions overlap with voting? Thousands of state and local election officials across the U.S are sharing ideas and making accommodations to try to ensure that voters and polling places are safe amid an unprecedented pandemic. Some are finding ways to expand access to voter registration and ballot request forms. Others are testing new products, installing special equipment or scouting outdoor voting locations. (Carr Smith, 8/30)
