NYT, WSJ and WaPo Pull Reporters from Trump Campaign Trail Over Its Failures to Follow Covid Safety Guidelines
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A number of major newspapers and news outlets have chosen to stop having their reporters travel with President Donald Trump’s campaign over fears about its failure to follow CDC best practices on preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
According to the New York Times‘ media correspondent Michael M. Grynbaum, his paper, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post have pulled their campaign trail teams from the Trump re-election bid. They’ve expressed serious concerns about the safety of their personnel when both the campaign and the president’s rallies often do not practice rigorous mask wearing and social distancing.
“Foremost among the flouters is Mr. Trump himself, who, despite recently contracting the virus and spending three nights in the hospital, has shown little willingness to change his habits,” the Times reported. “On Saturday, he said the virus would soon ‘disappear,’ and on the way to a rally in Florida on Monday, he boarded Air Force One — where reporters were seated in the cabin — without wearing a mask.”
Of note: at least three White House correspondents have been infected with Covid during the past two weeks, as coronavirus outbreak rippled through Trump’s inner circle and the White House staff. As a result, the White House Correspondents Association is now struggling to find sufficient numbers of journalists to cover the protective press pool that always travels with the president.
Among the concerns raised by reporters: Many flight attendants and Secret Service agents on Air Force One have not worn masks; White House aides who tested positive for the coronavirus, or were potentially exposed, are returning to work before the end of a two-week quarantine; and the campaign has instituted few restrictions at the raucous rallies that Mr. Trump is now pledging to hold on a regular basis until Election Day.
Recent Trump rallies have repeatedly lacked any significant mask wearing and had zero social distancing, with reporters packed in close proximity to the president’s supporters, who are often yelling and cheering.
