Thousands of Trump supporters stood shoulder to shoulder waiting to hear the president speak in Sanford, Florida Monday evening. Among the mostly maskless crowd was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who gave high fives to many people in the crowd.
Ron DeSantis showing up at today’s Trump super spreader event in Sanford with no mask and no social distancing is a smack in the face to the 15,000 Floridians who have died under his incompetence. pic.twitter.com/X7CR9yT0Lf
— Chris King (@ChrisKingFL) October 12, 2020
The Daily Beast writes:
Trump’s rallies during the pandemic have alarmed health experts, but Monday’s rally may come to be the most stunning example yet of the president trying to push away the harsh realities of the coronavirus pandemic with election day coming ever closer.
After hearing the announcement Friday afternoon that Sanford would be the president’s first major rally following the health scare, some local business owners were alarmed. One local business owner, who asked to be quoted anonymously over fears of hurting their business, told The Daily Beast: “No person in their right mind would do this and risk so many people.”
Some of the people in the crowd appeared to be in the group that would be considered high risk for coronavirus. Vox reported, “Rally attendees are still required to sign a waiver absolving the campaign of any responsibility if they contract Covid-19.”
Waiting for Trump rally outside Orlando, very few supporters wearing masks, including many senior citizens. pic.twitter.com/nKdPkI1n7G
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 12, 2020
Meanwhile, after being repeatedly asked about Trump’s current condition, White House physician, Dr. Sean Conley released a statement saying the president is currently negative.
New statement from WH Physician Sean Conley reports that Pres Trump “has tested NEGATIVE (caps his) on consecutive days using COVID-19 antigen tests. The statement concludes that based on that and other data, the President “is not infectious to others.” pic.twitter.com/ympz8FEa0Q
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) October 12, 2020
Trump spoke for a little more than hour, where he again claimed, with no evidence, that he is immune from the virus.
Trump (on covid): "I went through it. Now they say I'm immune. I feel so powerful I'll walk into that audience. I'll walk in there, I'll kiss everyone in that audience. I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful woman and the — I'll just give you a big fat kiss." pic.twitter.com/eCuZonSFTQ
— David Mack (@davidmackau) October 12, 2020