White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed that the fundraising event Donald Trump attended at his Bedminster golf club on Thursday afternoon was “deemed safe” by White House personnel, even though the White House had learned Hope Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus hours before.
.@PressSec on President Trump's New Jersey trip yesterday: "It was deemed safe for the president to go. He socially distanced. It was an outdoor event and it was deemed safe…White House Operations made the assessment it was safe for the president in consultation with others." pic.twitter.com/xcltfqiWx0
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 2, 2020
According to the Washington Post, however, that’s untrue. “Trump was in close contact with dozens of other people, including campaign supporters, at a roundtable event,” the Post reports.
Trump did not wear a mask at the Thursday Bedminster event, nor on Air Force One or Marine One in his travels back and forth to the event.
Hicks was in close proximity to Trump on the plane and helicopter on Wednesday on their way to a rally in Minnesota. She started showing symptoms on the return trip and tested positive upon returning to Washington, DC.