{"id":169912,"date":"2020-10-05T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=169912"},"modified":"2020-10-04T06:24:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-04T05:24:13","slug":"entire-top-of-the-republican-party-has-been-exposed-to-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/10\/entire-top-of-the-republican-party-has-been-exposed-to-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"Entire Top of the Republican Party Has Been Exposed to COVID"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Trump’s campaign schedule has ensured that the top tier of the Republican Party either has contracted or has been exposed to COVID-19. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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“Many loathe Trump not because of his personal behaviour but because of a far more profound embarrassment; he is America without the mask.” Photo: JIM YOUNG\/REUTERS<\/p><\/div>\n

3 Oct 2020 – <\/em>The web of those exposed by President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s coronavirus diagnosis reads like a who\u2019s who of his peripatetic campaign: his campaign manager, who has now tested positive<\/a>, the chair of the Republican National Committee, the leader of the House GOP\u2019s campaign arm, and several high-profile members of Congress.<\/p>\n

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Now, those officials\u2014not to mention countless supporters of the president\u2014have either contracted COVID-19 or are at high risk for it after a week in which an infected Trump has criss-crossed the country. It also means a wide swath of the GOP\u2019s formal campaign apparatus could be sidelined a month before a pivotal election in which the party is losing ground in its efforts to hold onto the White House, keep the Senate, and recapture the House.<\/p>\n

Last Friday, the president had a packed day on the campaign trail, with events in Miami, Atlanta, and Virginia, with a stop in between at his hotel in Washington for a \u201croundtable with supporters.\u201d Somewhere along the way, Ronna McDaniel, the RNC chair, was with Trump. It was reported on Friday morning that she had contracted the coronavirus. An RNC spokesperson said that McDaniel had tested for COVID-19 after a member of her family had contracted the virus, and said she\u2019d been at home in Michigan since Saturday.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, Trump traveled to Pennsylvania for a rally, and held a White House event with many notable GOP officials to honor Judge Amy Coney Barrett, his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) was in attendance; video taken of the event by a CNN reporter<\/a> shows him hugging and greeting other attendees without wearing a mask. He announced Friday that he\u2019d tested positive for COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Then, on Tuesday, much of the Trump campaign team, along with a top ally, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), traveled on Air Force One to Cleveland, where they shared a debate hall with Democratic nominee former Vice President Joe Biden and his staff, supporters, and family.<\/p>\n

The day after, Trump traveled to Minnesota for a campaign rally, bringing along his top campaign aides as well as Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, on Air Force One. The president held a private fundraiser beforehand that attracted GOP Reps. Jim Hagedorn and Pete Stauber of Minnesota, as well as Jason Lewis, the GOP nominee in the U.S. Senate race, and a number of key donors and GOP officials in the state. Later, an evening rally outside the Twin Cities featured a speech from Trump that was half his normal length; aides reportedly sensed he was tired.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Lara Trump, the president\u2019s daughter-in-law, posted photos to social media showing herself mingling with various Trumpworld figures at a campaign event at Trump\u2019s hotel in Washington; she and others were not wearing masks. The day before, she had traveled to the debate in Cleveland on Air Force One with her family.<\/p>\n

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