Schiff: If Trump wanted more infections ‘would he be doing anything different?’

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Thursday tore into President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, warning that a rally he plans to hold at the White House on Saturday runs the risk of spreading the illness. 

“Donald Trump held a super-spreader event at the White House. Now he wants to hold another big rally there, and still refuses to wear a mask. I don’t think Donald Trump wants even more Americans to be infected with COVID-19. But if he did, would he be doing anything different?” Schiff, a prominent Trump critic, tweeted.

Donald Trump held a super-spreader event at the White House. Now he wants to hold another big rally there, and still refuses to wear a mask.

I don’t think Donald Trump wants even more Americans to be infected with COVID-19.

But if he did, would he be doing anything different? https://t.co/g5kGsSpKP4

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 10, 2020

The tweet comes as Democrats assail Trump for his handling of the pandemic, noting his frequent flouting of mask and social distancing guidelines at his White House events and campaign rallies.

Trump, the first lady and several aides, campaign officials and outside advisers have contracted the coronavirus. Many of the individuals who have tested positive attended a Sept. 26 event at the White House where Trump announced the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. The event was held outside, but many people in the crowded audience did not wear masks.

“Well, I think the data speak for themselves. We had a superspreader event in the White House, and it was in a situation where people were crowded together and were not wearing masks,” Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases expert, said Friday.

The Saturday event, which the White House said will focus on “law and order,” has come under particularly intense scrutiny given Trump’s own COVID-19 diagnosis. The White House has declined to say when Trump’s last negative test was, and he could still be contagious.

However, Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, on Thursday issued a memo saying he would be cleared to begin events on Saturday.