CNN conservative S.E. Cupp said on Friday that the Trump campaign's decision to hold a rally on the White House lawn without mandating any face masks or social distancing was a way to give Americans the false impression that the COVID-19 pandemic had ended.
While discussing the president's Republican National Convention acceptance speech, Cupp said that the decision to pack people in without requiring face masks could endanger public health and help spread the virus to more people.
"I think what the White House was trying to do and the RNC was trying to do was say, 'Look, we believe that COVID's gone and we did a great job handling it," Cupp said. "We want you to believe that, too. And so, COVID-fest -- the maskless, you know, display of idiocy last night -- was to sell that idea."
CNN's John Avlon agreed with Cupp.
"This is the Trump White House trying to say, 'Everything's fine, nothing to see here, we're moving forward,'" he said. "You saw Donald Trump try to sort of put lipstick on a pig last night with regard to the Trump administration's response to COVID."
Avlon said this might be a tough sell, however, because America has "4 percent of the world's population, but 22 percent of the world's deaths" from COVID-19.
"That's a sign of failure, not a stunning success," Avlon added.
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