Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
On a Saturday Night in Florida, a Presidential Party Became a Coronavirus Hot Zone
WASHINGTON — The lights were low and the disco balls spinning as a cake with a fiery sparkler shooting flames into the air was brought out to a robust rendition of “Happy Birthday,” joined by President Trump. The birthday girl, Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., then pumped her fist in the air and called out, “Four more years!”
It was a lavish, festive, carefree Saturday evening at Mar-a-Lago a week ago in what in hindsight now seems like a last hurrah for the end of one era and the beginning of another. In the days since then, the presidential estate in Florida has become something of a coronavirus hot zone. At least four Mar-a-Lago guests from last weekend have said they are infected and others have put themselves into quarantine.
So far, neither the president nor his family has reported feeling sick or is known to have isolated themselves. After days of resisting, Mr. Trump disclosed on Saturday that he had finally been tested overnight and was awaiting the results, without explaining why his staff had released a misleading midnight statement from the White House physician still insisting that there was no need for such a test since he had exhibited no symptoms.
But either way, the Mar-a-Lago petri dish has become a kind of metaphor for the perils of group gatherings in the age of coronavirus, demonstrating how quickly and silently the virus can spread. No one is necessarily safe from encountering it, not senators or diplomats or even the most powerful person on the planet seemingly secure in a veritable fortress surrounded by Secret Service agents.
It was a lavish, festive, carefree Saturday evening at Mar-a-Lago a week ago in what in hindsight now seems like a last hurrah for the end of one era and the beginning of another. In the days since then, the presidential estate in Florida has become something of a coronavirus hot zone. At least four Mar-a-Lago guests from last weekend have said they are infected and others have put themselves into quarantine.
So far, neither the president nor his family has reported feeling sick or is known to have isolated themselves. After days of resisting, Mr. Trump disclosed on Saturday that he had finally been tested overnight and was awaiting the results, without explaining why his staff had released a misleading midnight statement from the White House physician still insisting that there was no need for such a test since he had exhibited no symptoms.
But either way, the Mar-a-Lago petri dish has become a kind of metaphor for the perils of group gatherings in the age of coronavirus, demonstrating how quickly and silently the virus can spread. No one is necessarily safe from encountering it, not senators or diplomats or even the most powerful person on the planet seemingly secure in a veritable fortress surrounded by Secret Service agents.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-mar-a-lago.html
“Mar-a-Lago Petri dish”, yup
7 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
