Maddow Trump Rallies

Rachel Maddow Calls Trump’s Mid-Pandemic Rallies A Global Health Threat

Rachel Maddow obliterated Donald Trump on Tuesday for cramming people into indoor venues for campaign rallies in the middle of a pandemic, saying no other industrialized country in the world is having events like this in the coronavirus era.

“How does this look to other countries?” the MSNBC host asked. “These are still the only indoor events in the country in months in which thousands of people have congregated inside the same space.”

“How do we explain that in terms of our responsibility as a country in the midst of a global worldwide pandemic?” she added.

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Maddow said:

The last thing that community needs right now is an indoor event tonight with 3,000 people packed in like sardines and almost nobody wearing masks. I mean, just think about this for a second, right? I mean, how does — how does this look to other countries, for example? I mean, for all the, you know, failure of the president’s way-smaller-than-expected rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma this weekend. I know he’s gotten a lot of grief and he’s been very embarrassed about how small that crowd was with 2/3 of the arena sitting empty. But think about it this way: Even for that sad sack of a bad turnout rally in Tulsa, the White House, the president still did manage to get 6,000 people into that indoor space in Tulsa for that event. 6,000 people. And then tonight he crammed another 3,000 people inside for another campaign event. And however positive or negative or exciting or embarrassing these political events have been for the president, these are still the only indoor events in the country in months in which thousands of people have congregated inside the same space. I mean, think about that. How do we explain that in terms of our responsibility as a country in the midst of a global worldwide pandemic where countries, even when they isolate themselves from one another, are still interlinked, where any country where this is out of control is a risk to every place else on Earth. I mean, how do we explain that?

Trump’s rallies are both a laughingstock and a public health threat

There is no question that these rallies – from the half-empty arena in Tulsa to the mask-free megachurch in Phoenix – have been a laughingstock.

It’s almost as if the events are taking place in a different plane of existence where a pandemic isn’t happening and protective masks have yet to be invented.

But it becomes less amusing to watch when you realize that the folks in red hats aren’t living on another planet. They live among the rest of us, and their decision to cram into arenas without any social distancing measures in place will ultimately put all of us at risk.

And the rest of world is recognizing that the threat doesn’t stop at U.S. borders. Not only are other countries laughing at America, but they’re locking their doors to us until we get our act together.

If these rallies are any indication, it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

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