Chelsea Clinton blames Trump for Secret Service officers in quarantine

Chelsea Clinton on Friday said President Trump was to blame for more than 130 Secret Service officers reportedly quarantining or isolating because they had tested positive for COVID-19 or had come in contact with someone who had.

“Shame on you, ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ and your family,” the daughter of former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote on Twitter. 

“You put those sworn to protect you at risk with your reckless, dangerous choices,” she continued. “Hope every Secret Service agent and their family members receive the same care you did if they get sick from #covid19.” 

Shame on you, ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ and your family. You put those sworn to protect you at risk with your reckless, dangerous choices. Hope every Secret Service agent and their family members receive the same care you did if they get sick from #covid19. https://t.co/XJqDCzSRrK

— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) November 13, 2020

The Washington Post first reported the news Friday, writing that according to three people familiar with staffing for the organization, the agents who are in quarantine or isolating all either have the coronavirus or have been in contact with someone who tested positive.

The president, as well as first lady Melania Trump and other members of Trump’s inner circle, tested positive for COVID-19 in October. The president came under criticism when, as he recuperated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, he was driven by supporters outside the hospital while accompanied by agents. 

In response to the Post’s report Friday, the Secret Service said in a statement to The Hill that it “successfully carried out its protective obligations associated with the presidential campaign while fulfilling its statutory protective responsibilities,” although the agency did not confirm how many employees tested positive or how many are in quarantine. 

Days after an election party at the White House, other administration officials and Trump allies have tested positive, including White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and White House political director Brian Jack. 

Clinton has repeatedly leveled criticism against Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 10,728,000 people in the United States and left at least 243,300 dead as of Friday, according to The New York Times coronavirus database. 

On Thursday, the U.S. for the first time surpassed 150,000 newly confirmed infections in a single day, while the number of hospitalizations due to the virus hit a record of 67,096. 

In September, Clinton, who is also a fervent public health advocate, said in an interview on “The View” that she blamed Trump for the country’s struggle to contain COVID-19.

“I blame him [Trump] pretty fundamentally,” she said at the time. “He has such a blatant disregard for public health and the advice from public health experts that’s pretty uniform around things like masks, the continued importance of social distancing, how much safer it is to be kind of outside than inside, how important good ventilation is. Things that we have known for months.”