When President Donald Trump formally accepts the Republican nomination for president on Thursday, he will speak to a live audience at the White House for whom coronavirus tests are not a requirement upon arrival.
Ahead of the president’s primetime speech, guests received guidance from his 2020 campaign Thursday morning encouraging them to stay home if they’ve recently experienced symptoms of Covid-19 and “practice social distancing whenever possible.” The “guest guidance” document obtained by POLITICO notes that audience members must wear protective face coverings upon their arrival at the White House, and in high traffic areas, but can eschew masks during the president’s speech — when cameras are likely to pan to the crowd gathered on the South Lawn.
Asked about the testing policy, a White House spokesperson said the Trump campaign has been responsible for planning the live event and determining which guests, if any, must be tested beforehand.
“Guests who come in close proximity to the president will be tested, while others will be encouraged to wear masks,” the official said.
Vice President Mike Pence’s convention speech at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry on Wednesday underscored the risks of exposure that can still arise during live-audience events in the age of Covid-19. Pence, who leads the administration's coronavirus task force, was photographed shaking hands and fist-bumping with supporters who convened behind a rope line at the conclusion of his remarks. Very few attendees at the vice president’s speech wore masks, though chairs at the outdoor venue were spaced apart to allow for minimum social distancing.
The vice president’s speech came a day after First Lady Melania Trump capped the second night of the convention with a speech from the newly renovated White House Rose Garden. Audience members who were invited to attend her speech were also not required to get tested for the novel coronavirus beforehand, and few appeared to be wearing masks during the event. Guests did submit questionnaires beforehand for contract tracing purposes, according to a second White House official familiar with the planning.
Trump and his campaign team have used live audiences during certain parts of the GOP’s convention program to project a return to normalcy and draw a contrast with Democrats’ virtual convention. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden last delivered his acceptance speech before a live audience, though the crowd for his speech at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del., was limited to journalists, members of the production crew and U.S. Secret Service personnel.
