'You get made fun of': Trump campaign office shuns masks, social distancing
Source: Politico
The campaign’s headquarters — located on the 14th floor of an Arlington, Va., office building that shares space with multiple businesses — is normally packed with dozens of staffers, often sitting in close proximity to conduct phone calls and other urgent campaign business, said three people with knowledge of its operations.
But the office was shut down for its first deep cleaning in weeks after a senior campaign official tested positive for the virus. The decision to conduct the cleaning came after two months of flouting the Trump administration’s own public health guidance: There are no face coverings or temporary barriers between desks at headquarters, and leaders have limited efforts to implement social distancing.
The campaign’s lack of safety protections were visible during Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the office last month, during which he posed for a photo with more than 70 campaign staff, closely packed together and without wearing face coverings — an image that infuriated local officials, who called on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to take action and enforce state public health orders on universal masking indoors and social distancing. But Northam, a Democrat, ultimately declined to do so.
“The governor’s office did not want to get bogged down in a political fight,” said an individual familiar with those discussions, adding that Northam’s team concluded that his orders should be viewed as guidance. “They basically ducked a fight with the administration over this.” Northam’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/10/trump-campaign-office-social-distancing-356439
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