White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended President Trump’s decision to hold political rallies during the coronavirus pandemic.
“People have a First Amendment right, if they so choose, to show up and express their political opinion in the form of a peaceful protest, which is what the president held.” She said, decrying a “double standard” between the treatment of Black Lives Matter protests and Trump rallies.
“There is a real double standard here. CNN had on a guest, apparently a doctor, Rob Davidson, who said, ‘Now, true, there are social distancing issues with regard to the protests around the country. However, this is a public health crisis. They are marching against systemic racism.’ So if you’re allowed to march in aggregate in those protests, you are also allowed to show up at a political rally. You have a First Amendment right in this country.”
The Trump campaign has shifted the president’s events to smaller venues after several campaign aides tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the president’s Tulsa, Oklahoma rally, preferring airport hangars and runways where several hundred supporters can gather outside.
Democratic leaders around the country have supported protests against systemic racism at a time when other large gatherings are prohibited. In California, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti shut off power and water to homes where people were caught hosting parties in violation of coronavirus restrictions, but he attended a Black Lives Matter protest without donning a facemask.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio attended a Black Lives Matter protest and said that attending a protest against racism was not comparable to attending religious services.
“Four hundred years of American racism. I’m sorry, that is not the same question as the understandably aggrieved store owner or the devout religious person who wants to go back to services,” de Blasio told reporters at a June press conference. In April, the mayor shut down an Orthodox Jewish funeral service and in March, he threatened to shut down religious organizations permanently if they did not comply with his coronavirus orders.
