President Trump Risks the Lives of His Supporters with Indoor Rally

Trump has contempt for Democrats.  Trump has even more contempt for Republicans who do not support him.  But what group does Trump have the most contempt for?  Well that answer would be Trump's own supporters.  Trump sees his supporters as nothing but chumps.  A "chump" is defined as a foolish or easily deceived person.  Trump believes his chumps can be conned into doing pretty much anything, including risking their lives in support of Dear Leader.  And he would be right.

CNN reports on an indoor rally Trump held in Nevada:

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, criticized President Donald Trump for violating the state's rules on Sunday night by holding an indoor campaign rally attended by thousands of people

Trump "is knowingly packing thousands into an indoor venue to hold a political rally" the governor wrote in a lengthy Twitter post. He added that Trump has "forgotten that this country is still in the middle of a global pandemic." 

Trump responded to Sisolak, saying that the governor's office had nixed outdoor sites that his campaign proposed.

"This is an insult to every Nevadan who has followed the directives, made sacrifices, and put their neighbors before themselves," Sisolak said. "It's also a direct threat to all of the recent progress we've made and could potentially set us back."

"As usual, he doesn't believe the rules apply to him," Sisolak said of Trump, and accused the president of "reckless and selfish actions."

Trump held his first indoor rally in months in Henderson, Nevada, on Sunday night. Aides said that every attendee would have their temperature checked before entering and would be provided with a mask that they were encouraged to wear. They also had access to hand sanitizer. However, like the president's recent rallies, most supporters were not wearing face coverings.

...

[Trump] added that he doesn't fear contracting COVID-19 when he hosts a rally because when he's on stage he's "very far away" from the audience and is therefore "not at all concerned.”

Let me stop here and emphasize what Trump is saying.  He is saying the rallies are okay because he IS far away from audience members who might be infected.   Of course, his supporters, packed into the arena are not socially distanced and are at a great risk for contracting Covid-19 from others who are infected. But Trump does not care about that.  He's only concerned about himself.  The article continues:

In response to criticism the campaign received for holding the indoor rally, Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign 2020 communications director, said in a statement, "If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino, or burn down small businesses in riots, you can gather peacefully under the 1st Amendment to hear from the president of the United States."

The president had also held a rally on Saturday on the tarmac of Nevada’s Minden-Tahoe Airport where most people were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing.

Reacting to the rally Sunday night, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., tweeted that the president is "deliberately killing people."

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., tweeted Monday, "Trump is using his position of power to spread COVID-19. People died after his last indoor rally."

Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary to President George W. Bush, tweeted Monday, "Indoor rallies are irresponsible. Covid-19 is real and this was a bad idea."

The anti-Trump group of Republicans called The Lincoln Project tweeted, "Thinking about how Donald Trump knew that coronavirus was airborne and deadly, and *still* chose to have an indoor rally."

Trump has nothing but contempt for his own supporters.  He thinks they are just a bunch of chumps, easy marks who will do whatever they're told to do, including risking their lives in support of him.  And Trump would be right.

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OOPs short takes:

• MSNBC had a very good story on the signature mismatch authentication issue as to mail-in ballots that I've tried to alert people to.  I couldn't find a link to the story.  CNN though today has a story on its website about the issue.  CNN also has an editorial suggesting people reverse course and vote in-person instead of by mail because counting mail-in ballots will result in a delay in the results.  That delay will allow Trump to delegitimize the result as fraudulent.  Yes, Trump will do that.  Absolutely, he will.
• News this weekend is that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is putting $100 million into Florida to help Biden win that state.  Biden and Trump are running even in Florida.  Even though Biden is doing better with white voters than Hillary Clinton did in 2016, Biden is struggling to connect with Latino voters, in particular Cuban-Americans, in Florida.  The state is a must win for Trump.  There is no scenario in which Trump can win a majority in the Electoral College without winning Florida.   While Florida is not needed for a Biden EC win, it would be a knockout punch.