MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski on Friday called the more than 1,500 supporters sitting in close proximity to one another on the White House lawn during President Trump’s Republican convention speech Thursday night a “grotesque display,” with the “Morning Joe” co-host sharing she was “super grossed out about the people who gathered there” and “put their lives at risk” by not following social distancing guidelines and not wearing masks.
“I’m not shocked at all by the sort of grotesque display that was against the law,” Brzezinski said of the crowd. “More super grossed out and really worried about the people who gathered there, who put their lives at risk to kind of squish together and support the President.”
Co-host Joe Scarborough interjected, mentioning that these were similar concerns expressed when Trump held an indoor rally in Tulsa, Okla., in June. That rally had an estimated crowd of 6,200.
Tulsa reported a rise in cases by nearly 90 percent in the days following that event.
More than 1,000 packed the South Lawn of the White House on Friday for the final evening of the Republican National Convention. Few were seen wearing masks.
Trump administration officials have urged Americans to wear masks when it is not possible to maintain six feet of distance in order to avoid spreading COVID-19.
The campaign would not say whether attendees had been tested for the coronavirus.
Trump’s speech on Thursday night ran 70 minutes, while Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s speech from Delaware at his party’s convention last week ran 24 minutes.