Trump calls audience at his Bedminster golf club a 'peaceful protest'

David Knowles
Editor,
Yahoo News•August 7, 2020

At a surprise press briefing Friday at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J., President Trump said his audience of well-to-do supporters were involved in a “peaceful protest” and therefore did not need to adhere to state coronavirus guidelines prohibiting large gatherings.

Trump was asked about his earlier assertion that the pandemic was “disappearing” by a reporter who noted the crowd in attendance seemed to be violating New Jersey restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus.

“You’re wrong on that because it’s a political activity and they have exceptions, political activity and it’s also a peaceful protest,” Trump responded.

Before the hastily called news conference began, members of Trump’s private club filed inside the room where the president was to speak, most of them not wearing masks.

Country club members awaiting the president pic.twitter.com/cm9FOvtoC9
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) August 7, 2020

Shortly before the president took to the podium, staffers distributed face masks to the attendees, many of whom had already been standing shoulder-to-shoulder inside for approximately half an hour.

As of Friday night, more than 161,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, which has sickened more than 4.9 million people here. This week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy retightened restrictions on indoor gatherings in the state following a recent surge in new coronavirus cases. The new guidelines prohibit indoor gatherings of more than 25 people.

“To me they pretty much look like they all have, pretty much all have masks on,” Trump continued. “You know you have an exclusion in the law. It says peaceful protest or political activity, right?”

In remarks ahead of questions from the press, Trump floated the idea of signing executive orders to extend unemployment insurance should a deal not be reached with Democrats in Congress, as well as one guaranteeing that insurance companies cover pre-existing medical conditions, something that the Affordable Care Act already put in place.

Trump Joins His Golf Club Guests in Derailing Presser to Bash Journalist Who Asked About Masks

Blake Montgomery,
The Daily Beast•August 7, 2020

Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Members of President Trump’s New Jersey golf club derailed a Friday press conference with him to jeer at a reporter who confronted the president about COVID-19 deaths and noted that the guests themselves weren’t wearing masks.

The moment arose after Trump repeated the lie that the new coronavirus pandemic, which he continually referred to as “the China virus,” would “disappear” and that it was already on track to do so. COVID-19 cases are actually rising across the country.

Trump's paying Bedminster customers boo when a reporter points out that many of them aren't wearing masks, violating New Jersey law. Trump defends them by describing them as "peaceful protesters" of the media, then ends the news conference to a round of applause. pic.twitter.com/5DVow55B1G

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 8, 2020

A reporter pushed Trump about his well-documented habit of downplaying the virus: “You said that the pandemic is disappearing, but we lost 6,000 Americans this week, and just in this room, you have dozens of people not following the guidelines in New Jersey ... ”

Trump’s supporters at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster began booing before the reporter could finish his sentence, and the president shot back at the journalist: “No, they don’t have to. It’s a political activity. You’re wrong on that because they have exceptions for political activity. It’s also a peaceful protest.”


To deafening cheers from his country club guests, Trump claimed that “it looks like they all have masks on” and pointed to “an exclusion in the law.”

“It says, ‘Peaceful protests or political activity.’ You can call that political activity, but I’d call it peaceful protest because they heard you were coming up, and they know the news is fake. They understand it better than anybody,” he said, as his supporters cheered him on again.

Awaiting @POTUS presser in Bedminster. Many members of his club are here not social distancing and not wearing masks.

A club official just told the crowd to “spread out a little bit” because “the tweets are going out” about their noncompliance with NJ regulations pic.twitter.com/bzyLVwqS0u
— Toluse Olorunnipa (@ToluseO) August 7, 2020

New Jersey coronavirus regulations state, “Indoor gatherings must be limited to 25 people or 25 percent of a room's capacity—whichever number is lower. All attendees at indoor gatherings must wear face coverings and stay six feet apart.” Though Trump claimed his guests were wearing masks, numerous photos from the presser showed a crowd of guests without masks on.

CNN reported the conflict between Trump’s guests and the press may have been less than spontaneous. A live mic reportedly caught Trump telling his guests before the press conference, “You’ll get to meet the fake news tonight. You’ll get to see what I have to go through. Who’s there? Oh all my killers are there, wow. So you’ll get to see some of the people that we deal with every day.”

Trump has been reluctant to wear a face mask at public appearances, only donning one publicly in mid-July after 130,000 Americans had died of COVID-19. He’s promoted pseudoscience about their ineffectiveness, and Republican politicians across the country have followed his lead. Public health experts across the world agree that face coverings help slow the spread of the coronavirus. In recent weeks, he’s recast his response and said that those who wear face masks are patriotic for protecting fellow citizens.

this is the scene pic.twitter.com/SbO20iBxa4
— Justin Sink (@justinsink) August 7, 2020