Washington Post slams Trump for playing a 'huckster's game' on COVID-19 defiance

On Monday, The Washington Post editorial board tore into President Donald Trump's indoor Henderson rally in violation of Nevada COVID-19 restrictions, warning that he was risking a "superspreader event."

"Beyond any doubt, the coronavirus transmits from person to person," wrote the board. "An enclosed space, with people shouting, has frequently led to outbreaks: a choir practice, a wedding, a summer camp and cruise ships, to name a few. The Nevada rally was a potential superspreader event, led by the president in pursuit of political gain. He has refused to wear a face mask on the campaign trail, and has belittled the Democratic nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, for wearing one. In Pennsylvania recently, he asked a largely maskless crowd if they know 'a man that likes a mask as much' as Biden. 'It gives him a feeling of security,' the president said. 'If I was a psychiatrist, I’d say this guy has some big issues.'"

"Mr. Trump is the one with the big issues," wrote the board. "His appearance Sunday was not a misunderstanding but a deliberate defiance of rules intended to keep people safe, rules that were advanced by Mr. Trump’s own White House ... Mr. Trump’s rhetoric was also disconnected from the reality of a nation still staggering under the pandemic wave, with at least 191,000 people killed and 6.5 million infected."

Trump has shown no concern for the risk he took in Nevada, even hosting a similar event in Arizona the following day.

"Mr. Trump plays a huckster’s game, thinking he can fool enough of the people all of the time," concluded the board. "The clock is running out on this gambit. The nation is long past his misplaced bravado and happy talk. Behind it lies reckless abandon with people’s health and well being."

You can read more here.