On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta stated that the event setup for President Trump’s upcoming speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention that will take place from the South Lawn of the White House shows that “they don’t seem to be taking the coronavirus very seriously.” Acosta stated that this is because there will be a large number of attendees, who will “be sitting shoulder to shoulder,” and “we can see many of the attendees are not wearing masks.”
Acosta said, “[O]ne of the things we can tell you about the setting here tonight on the South Lawn of the White House, Erin, is that they don’t seem to be taking the coronavirus very seriously. There are hundreds of chairs lined up for attendees to be sitting in. They’ll be sitting shoulder to shoulder, already tonight, we can see many of the attendees are not wearing masks. And I can tell you, from talking to a senior administration official earlier today, that convention planners were not in consultation with the Coronavirus Task Force, the task force that works for the White House, about safety precautions for tonight’s proceedings.”
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