Donald Trump appears to be the Johnny Appleseed of COVID-19, as the virus is following his campaign rallies around the country.
USA Today investigated and found:
As President Donald Trump jetted across the country holding campaign rallies during the past two months, he didn’t just defy state orders and federal health guidelines. He left a trail of coronavirus outbreaks in his wake.
The president has participated in nearly three dozen rallies since mid-August, all but two at airport hangars. A USA TODAY analysis shows COVID-19 cases grew at a faster rate than before after at least five of those rallies in the following counties: Blue Earth, Minnesota; Lackawanna, Pennsylvania; Marathon, Wisconsin; Dauphin, Pennsylvania; and Beltrami, Minnesota.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Without full contact tracing it is impossible to definitively say that it was the Trump rallies solely that caused the increase in cases. Trump’s rallies have coincided with schools reopening and students returning to college, but in several states, the spread of the virus has been able to be traced back to the Trump campaign. Minnesota labeled Trump post-first debate rally a coronavirus outbreak after contact tracing revealed Trump caused dozens of new cases in the state.
The consequences of Trump’s pandemic death march to close his reelection campaign won’t fully be known until after the election has ended. Due to the incubation period of the virus and other factors, Trump will be making people sick weeks after the votes have been counted.
Trump rallies aren’t gaining him any new votes, but they are making coronavirus great again.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow and Like PoliticusUSA on Facebook
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
