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The superspreaders-in-chief are at it again: It’s time for the holiday party circuit at the White House. You know, as one does during a pandemic.
As coronavirus cases surge across the country, the Trump administration is planning to host a series of large holiday gatherings indoors, despite CDC recommendations to not do that very thing.
The exact number of December parties planned is up in the air—the Washington Post reports at least 25, while the New York Times reports at least 20. The parties will each have at least 50 attendees, says the Post, and supposedly there are no plans to test them in advance. (FWIW, while the White House sits on federal property, DC government mandates currently limit indoor gatherings to ten people.) Events will include a reception for West Wing staffers and their families and a Naval Observatory gathering hosted by Vice President Mike Pence, says the Times.
At the events, masks will be required and available for guests, hand sanitizer-stations will be on-site, and social distancing will be encouraged, Melania Trump’s spokesperson Stephanie Grisham told the Post. Beverages will be covered as they’re handed out, says Grisham, and food will be plated behind plexiglass barriers.
These events come after a series of White House gatherings have been linked to Covid outbreaks, such as a celebration for Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett, which may have resulted in President Trump, Melania Trump, and Barron Trump, among others, getting coronavirus, and an Election Night party attended by Mark Meadows, David Bossie, and Ben Carson, all of whom tested positive afterward.
It seems like, despite all of the many, many risks, the Trump administration may give “a f— about the Christmas stuff and decorations,” after all.
Mimi Montgomery joined Washingtonian in 2018. She’s written for The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Washington City Paper, DCist, and PoPVille. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives in Del Ray.
