Trump is 'clearly flirting with disaster' by
holding rallies and not wearing a mask, health expert warns
By Shelby
Lin Erdman and Paul LeBlanc, CNN
Updated
0210 GMT (1010 HKT) July 3, 2020
(CNN)President
Donald Trump is "clearly flirting with disaster" by holding rallies
and attending events without wearing a mask, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who was an
adviser to the White House medical team under President George W. Bush, said
Thursday evening.
"Just
because he's tested frequently -- (it) isn't a Superman cape. He can get the
virus," Reiner told CNN's Kate Bolduan on "OutFront." "The
more he flirts with this, the higher the likelihood that he'll get it."
The
President, Reiner continued, "is over 70 and he's obese. He probably has
close to a 20% chance of dying if he contracts the virus."
The
doctor's message comes one day before Trump plans to travel to South Dakota for
a fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore, where those attending are not required
to wear masks or to social-distance, according to the state's governor.
The
President has made significant efforts to downplay -- or outright ignore -- the
pandemic in recent weeks, painting a rosy picture of his administration's
response and pushing reopenings even as states across the country grapple with
new surges of the virus.
Last month,
Trump faced sharp criticism for his large, in-person rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
where multiple campaign staffers and Secret Service agents tested positive for
the virus.
"If
you think about it, he went to Tulsa during a surge in viral activity there. He
was in a tightly packed venue with thousands of people, almost all who were not
wearing masks, and this is how you get, how you acquire, the virus,"
Reiner said.
Trump said
earlier this week that he would have "no problem" wearing a face mask
in public in certain circumstances -- a pivot from his months-long refusal to
wear one in public at events where social distancing was not always observed.
When asked
whether he would wear a mask, Trump told Fox Business in a White House
interview, "Oh, I would. I have. I mean people have seen me wearing one.
If I'm in a group of people where we're not 10 feet away -- but usually I'm not
in that position and everyone's tested."
Trump said
he didn't believe making masks mandatory across the country was necessary but
claimed that he is "all for masks" and he thinks "masks are
good."
Still, the
President hasn't worn a face mask in front of cameras since the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention provided new guidelines in April encouraging
Americans to wear facial coverings when social distancing was not an option.
When the
CDC guidelines went into effect, Trump told reporters he probably wouldn't
adopt the practice.
"I
don't think I'm going to be doing it," he said at the time. "Wearing
a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens --
I just don't see it."
CNN's
Maegan Vazquez, Allie Malloy and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
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