Trump-Pence Relaxes Without A Mask At The Republican Convention Crowd

Donald Trump dan Mike Pence (Sumber: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - When the President of the United States (US) Donald Trump and his deputy, Mike Pence, greeted supporters at the Republican National Convention, only a few people wore masks. They seem to have ignored the COVID-19 health protocol. Even Pence shook hands with one of the supporters in the crowd.

This view stands in stark contrast to the Democratic National Convention, which was held in virtually all segments last week. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris decide to cancel a trip to Wisconsin due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two of them delivered speeches in a mostly empty place.

Launching Reuters on Thursday, August 27, Biden and Harris wore masks and exercised physical distancing. They are also far away from the crowd watching the fireworks outdoors on the final day of the Democratic Party Convention.

As Democratic candidates try to avoid crowds and wear masks in public, it has taken Trump months to acknowledge that wearing masks is an effective way of minimizing the spread of COVID-19. Even though COVID-19 in the US has killed more than 179,000 people.

Meanwhile, audiences at the Republican Convention said they had never been tested for COVID-19. On the other hand, medical experts at the White House and across the country are encouraging Americans to continue to exercise physical distancing, wear masks and wash their hands to ward off the spread of COVID-19. Trump and Pence are known to be tested regularly for COVID-19, as are staff and journalists with whom they interact at the White House.

Trump and Pence are trying to provide an optimistic picture of the COVID-19 pandemic despite the alarming toll. Trump criticized Joe Biden for campaigning from his hometown of Delaware. Trump also criticized Biden for not regularly holding face-to-face events across the country.

Democratic vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, criticized Donald Trump for continuing to politicize the pandemic. Trump, who often takes off his mask, seems to divide the group that those who wear masks are Democratic Party supporters and Republican supporters do not wear masks.

“The idea that Trump is going to make this a partisan issue is outrageous. Amazing, right? You wear a mask if you are a Democrat, you don't wear a mask if you are a Republican? " Harris said at a fundraising event.