The White House announced a last-minute change in President Trump’s travel plans, canceling his weekend trip to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
In a statement Friday afternoon, the White House released a one-line statement: “UPDATE: The President will no longer travel to Bedminster, NJ.” When asked by the pool journalist if the cancellation was related to New Jersey’s COVID-related travel restrictions for those who have been in critical areas recently, White House spokesman Judd Deere said: “It had nothing to do with it. with that”.
On Wednesday, the White House said the president would not follow New Jersey quarantine policy during his trip because “he is not a civilian” and those who approach him are examined to make sure they do not have COVID-19. Travelers to New Jersey, New York and Connecticut from COVID hot spots are receive self-quarantine instructions for 14 days For now, those states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.
The White House said the order did not apply to Trump because “he is not a civilian” and because “anyone who is very close to him” undergoes a COVID test “and is confirmed to be negative.” The New Jersey governor told CNN that he considers the president to be an essential worker who was therefore exempt from the quarantine order.
While Washington DC is not on the list of high-infection states, Trump traveled this week to Arizona to verify construction progress on the southern border wall and attend a campaign event in a megachurch in Phoenix. Arizona has seen a dramatic increase in COVID cases in June: On Friday, the state reported 3,428 new cases of infection and revealed that beds in hospital intensive care units are full at 88% of capacity.
With the rapid increase in cases, vice president Mike Pence said On Friday he had recently spoken to the governors of Arizona, Florida and Texas and will travel with Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, to Texas on Sunday and to Arizona on Tuesday, and will also be going to Florida on Thursday it will receive information on the response on the ground.
The United States reached a daily maximum of 40,000 COVID cases Friday, breaking a record set in April. As a result, governors in some states are halting or slowing down their reopening efforts.
Jason Silverstein contributed to this report.
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