White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany warned that attendees at President Donald Trump’s June 20 campaign rally in Oklahoma should “assume a personal risk” of contracting coronavirus at the event.
McEnany made the comment during a Wednesday press briefing as some experts warn the event could become a “super spreader.” McEnany went on to highlight certain safety efforts the campaign will be making to curb the potential spread of the virus.
“As in any event you assume a personal risk. That is just what you do. When you go to a baseball game, you assume a risk. That’s part of life. It’s a personal decision of Americans as to whether to go to the rally or whether not to go to the rally,” she said Wednesday. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: MLK’s Niece Says Biden Speaks From A Different Reality In Saying Floyd’s Death Had A Bigger Impact Than MLK’s Assassination)
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – MARCH 28: President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally at the Van Andel Arena on March 28, 2019 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids was the final city Trump visited during his 2016 campaign. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Campaign officials will be handing out free hand sanitizer, face masks, and a temperature check before being allowed to enter the rally. Local officials in Tusla nevertheless say the rally could have disastrous consequences for the city.
“It’s the perfect storm of potential over-the-top disease transmission,” Bruce Dart, the executive director of the Tulsa health department, told the New York Times. “It’s a perfect storm that we can’t afford to have.” (RELATED: President Trump Delays Oklahoma Rally Out Of Respect For Juneteenth Holiday)
McEnany turned the issue back on reporters by highlighting the hypocrisy of criticizing Trump’s rally even as mass protests across the country against the death of George Floyd receive praise.
“The media should not be making decisions about their guidelines to us about social distancing based on political ideology or what they think is the worthiness of the cause,” she said.