President Donald Trump made lots of promises at a Friday evening press conference, but did not take any action.
The president made the comments from Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, where he arrived on Thursday for an extended weekend.
He held the press conference while allowing members of his private club to serve as an audience for his speech, which was announced by the White House but frequently veered into partisan electoral politics. Members were seen without masks and not social distancing, potentially in violation of New Jersey regulations.
Trump's comments came after White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin "did not make any progress" in negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Here's some of what people were saying about his press conference:
Aside from the clear public health issues, the optics of POTUS addressing his country club members who pay at up to… https://t.co/DIk1GN09bc— Kathryn Watson (@Kathryn Watson) 1596842894.0
The logical endpoint of the Trump Presidency: press conference at his country club where he explains to millionaire… https://t.co/oz8Etilpqt— Don Moynihan (@Don Moynihan) 1596842397.0
Before news conf Trump was caught on a hot mic telling people at club...”You’ll get to meet the fake news tonight.… https://t.co/rofJz8Favj— Jim Acosta (@Jim Acosta) 1596846676.0
Honestly, I think Trump wants to lose the election. There’s no other explanation for this extreme level of self sabotage.— Josh Schwerin (@Josh Schwerin) 1596843628.0
No social distancing and not a lot of masks. https://t.co/OcKjQiQSwt— Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@Molly Jong-Fast🏡) 1596842287.0
Sec. 7508A of the tax code, which applies after declared disasters, allows administration to postpone tax collectio… https://t.co/OwFvV0kbxE— Richard Rubin (@Richard Rubin) 1596844257.0
Wow. A reporter points out many club members in the room aren't wearing mask, violating guidelines. The crowd boos… https://t.co/TPc5ydOP6M— Kathryn Watson (@Kathryn Watson) 1596845722.0
"Is Trump stupid?" is a question I frequently get asked. My answer: It's irrelevant, because because he cannot foc… https://t.co/8zaSNrusL4— Tony Schwartz (@Tony Schwartz) 1596844834.0
Trump calls his tax-payer funded press conference a "political activity" when asked about guests not wearing masks or social distancing— Will Steakin (@Will Steakin) 1596845797.0
We’ve reached the portion of the press conference where the President’s golf club groupies are booing reporters and… https://t.co/HUylgIOBif— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn Torabi) 1596845937.0
Covered my first political protest by country club members tonight.— Toluse Olorunnipa (@Toluse Olorunnipa) 1596847193.0
Trump on the coronavirus outbreak: "We're doing very well. You don't hear that too often from the media, but we are doing very well."— Ryan Struyk (@Ryan Struyk) 1596844017.0
@realDonaldTrump couldn’t even negotiate a ramp. https://t.co/DnAmAEfJwO— Bradley Whitford (@Bradley Whitford) 1596845947.0
Donald Trump is talking about buy America when his ENTIRE clothing line was MADE IN CHINA. And millions of people believe this BULLSHIT.— Don Winslow (@Don Winslow) 1596843900.0
Trump, tonight in particular, appears to think that he can run the US via executive order. Congress becomes obsolet… https://t.co/W5jM5wGV5d— Eric Lipton (@Eric Lipton) 1596846117.0
President Trump just said COVID19 is disappearing. It is not. Despite the President’s repeated attempts to state… https://t.co/lXbKmpXck7— David Begnaud (@David Begnaud) 1596843682.0
Trump says “We will be pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover preexisting c… https://t.co/pXqJwa5E9J— DJ Judd (@DJ Judd) 1596844859.0
Trump the populist, they told us; Trump the anti-elite champion of the working class... https://t.co/hScnJnbtWk— Mehdi Hasan (@Mehdi Hasan) 1596844247.0
