Politics & Finance Writer
Vanity Fair
From The Levin Report for Oct. 2, 2020:
On Friday afternoon, Donald Trump’s approach for the entirety of the pandemic, i.e. utter disdain for mask-wearing, social distancing, and taking the advice of experts in general, reached its inevitable conclusion when he was transported to Walter Reed hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 in the early hours of the morning. On top of the president’s escalating health situation, the virus has also infected a number of people with whom Typhoid Donald and others in the administration have come in contact over the last several days, including first lady Melania Trump, adviser Hope Hicks, three members of the White House press corp, a White House staffer, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, and Senator Mike Lee, who spent last weekend rubbing up against anyone in arm’s reach at an event in the Rose Garden to announce Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court. And while at this point mandating masks in the White House would be kind of a no-brainer, if not an extreme case of the horse having already left the Oval Office, apparently the administration is planning to just let herd immunity take its course.
Yes, as of Friday afternoon, the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal were both reporting that the administration still wasn’t requiring employees to wear masks, describing the use of the coverings as “a personal choice,” despite overwhelming evidence that they help stop the spread of the highly contagious disease. As if to really drive home the point that the administration remains hostile toward science and medical expertise, throughout the day numerous officials appeared on camera sans mask, including chief of staff Mark Meadows . . . .
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Wow! Who would have thought that taking COVID-19 seriously, taking precautions, and wearing a mask would make a difference? Certainly, nobody in the White House!
While some reporters are using the term “surreal” to describe yesterday at the White House, that term would hardly distinguish yesterday from every other day of the Trump Administration. We’ve been living in “The Twilight Zone” for so long that nobody can remember what “normal” was.
PWS
10-03-20