As the coronavirus increases across the country, several properties owned by President Donald Trump have continued to host meetings with guests and employees bordering on state and city-mandated face-covering ordinances, as well as the public rules of the organization to resume business during the pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic, the president has given mixed signals when it comes to wearing a mask to fight the coronavirus, not wearing one publicly until July, even when health experts have said the masks are key to slowing the spread. In late May, when cases began to surface again across the country, Trump shared a tweet taunting alleged 2020 Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden for wearing a face mask during a public appearance on Memorial Day.
Amid the president’s mixed signals, in recent weeks Trump hotel guests and employees from Washington DC to North Carolina have attended events and gathered in common areas without wearing masks, violating local mandates and guidelines. that the President’s properties have issued, according to a review. from social media posts.
While Trump has refused for months to cover his face in public, the president tweeted an image of himself wearing a mask Monday and wrote that “many people say it is patriotic to wear a face mask when you cannot socially distance yourself.” “
But hours later, Trump participated in a fundraiser at the Trump International Hotel in DC, where several guests, including the President, the White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, Senator Lindsey Graham and Madison Cawthorn, who recently won a republican runoff for western North Carolina. The congressional seat was shown in the hotel chamber without masks in the lobby, grouped together and without social distancing while the president and those in attendance did not appear to eat or drink, according to a video of the event published by Cawthorn.
At Tuesday’s first White House coronavirus press conference in weeks, the president was asked about not wearing a mask Monday night at his hotel, claiming he was “pretty far from the crowd, but I would say this: I already explained it, I think, very well. If they are together, I would put on the mask “, even though the video shows that this is not the case.
On May 13, Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser implemented an order to cover people’s faces in public places. The Trump hotel website in Washington states that guests in common spaces like the lobby should wear face covers unless they are eating. “The safety of our guests and employees remains our top priority,” states the website.
But in the clip, the president addresses a small crowd of people who apparently don’t follow city guidelines that all hotel employees and guests wear masks.
The event site was sanitized beforehand, and the White House Medical Unit and US Secret Service screened all attendees before they gained access to the event, according to Republican National Committee press secretary Mandi Merritt. , who told ABC News: “All attendees tested negative for COVID-19 on the day of the event, completed a wellness questionnaire, and passed a temperature test.”
The Trump organization did not respond to a request for comment.
The Trump Hotel implemented the face mask policy to comply with local ordinance in Washington, DC The policy, found on the Trump Hotel website states: “By government order, facial coverage is required for all associates and guests while in public areas where social distancing is not possible. These areas include our lobby, elevators, guest hallways, and restaurants. ”
Other hotels across the country are also looking to implement mandatory facial coverage requirements for guests and associates similar to the Trump Hotel. Marriott International Executive Director Arne Sorenson announced Monday that all guests will be required to wear facial coverage at 7,300 locations worldwide beginning July 27. The staff has already had to wear facial covers since April.
Several other social media posts show that a wedding was held on July 4 at the Trump International Hotel. In a video shared by Ricardo Vázquez, a wedding DJ for Dan Goldman’s events, dozens of guests at the reception are shown dancing and celebrating, close together with no one wearing a mask.
Vazquez, who declined to comment, wrote on Instagram that the reception was reduced in size from 100 to 48.
Prominent pro-Trump figures have shared images on Trump properties without wearing a mask in public spaces, including My Pillow CEO Michael Lindell, who posted an image on Facebook on July 7 without wearing a mask at the President’s hotel in DC. Far-right social media personality Tim Gionet, known as “Baked Alaska,” also shared an image from the lobby of the same hotel without a mask.
Greg Aselbekian, a frequent sponsor also has a “NO MASKS ALLOWED” birthday party for the President Washington DC hotel, according to a Facebook event page, which says, “We are all tired of being unconditionally locked up like animals, Join me when I turn 27. I will spend the afternoon at Harry’s if you want to join, and I will end the night at the Trump Hotel, where I will also stay. NO MASKS! ”
Aselbekian confirmed the planned event to ABC News, adding that he contracted the coronavirus at the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February.
“Yes, that’s where I got it from,” he said. “It sucked for three weeks. It was like a flu on steroids.”
Aselbekian, a Navy veteran who LinkedIn says is on the Veterans board for Trump, said he is not afraid of catching him again and that he will not live his life in fear, adding that the president wearing a mask had no influence on what he will do.
“I think for myself. I don’t blindly follow a politician or person. A lot of people do that, both sides, people are guilty. As I said, I think for myself.”
These instances are not limited to the Trump International Hotel in the nation’s capital. Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago General Manager Gabriel Soanca posted a photo of workers at the facility without face masks as they changed 400 mattresses and box springs for the property on May 28. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued a mandatory mask mandate on April 30)
“I am so proud of the Trump Chicago team! Changing over 400 mattresses and box springs around the house. Thank you team!
In North Carolina, the Twitter account of the Trump National Golf Club in Charlotte tweeted on July 15, along with photos of adults who do not wear masks, “What an exciting day to have the opportunity to meet @ 4derekdeboer, host of @theracersgroup and GT4 America Series! Check out his popular docu series, http://FastLife.TV, highlighting his motto ‘Get out there and live your dreams and make the world a happier place!’ ”
In North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper announced that face masks would be mandatory on April 28.
The tweets have been removed and removed from the official Twitter account.
Trump was recently asked if he would consider a national mask mandate and told Chris Wallace of Fox News: “No, I want people to have a certain freedom, and I don’t believe in that, no.”
“I do not agree with the statement that if everyone wears a mask, everything disappears,” Trump added in the interview broadcast Sunday, contradicting Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who he said several times last week. that if everyone wore a mask, the epidemic could be brought “to the ground” in a matter of weeks.
“Donald Trump and his allies just don’t believe the rules apply to them,” said Kyle Morse, a spokesman for the 21st century super-Democrat PAC. “By politicizing the wearing of masks, Donald Trump made it clear that he is more interested in fighting culture wars than fighting the coronavirus. Trump mishandled this pandemic, people died for it and we will make sure that the American people hold him accountable.” . ”
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