1. I did not catch it at the time, but what happened at the debate w the Trump family- who are known to be high-risk bc of their behavior is absolutely unacceptable and it piles on to what is happening at the WH DAILY, as @GeoffRBennett so clearly articulates on @chrislhayes just https://twitter.com/stephenlevinson/status/1312177275232686080

2. now. The WH Press Pool, the Secret Service, and the non-political staffer have NO CONTROL over the fact that the president has been forcing them to work in a high-risk environment for months as they've gone all-in on this anti-science, anti-reality bullshit "let's just pretend

3. the pandemic away" plan that Trump adopted. It was always pretty bad, Trump never fully accepted the CDC/reality version of the pandemic, even when he was decently aligned with Fauci and Birx it was still a shit show compared to how it would have been under a different R prez

4. But now Trump is far, FAR away from the CDC and health guidelines and has been flaunting the safety protocols laid out by people like Dr. Fauci for months- starting small, with little gatherings lacking masks and social distancing that began to grow in size and boldness.

5. The 4th of July Mt. Rushmore event the 1st big congregate event- and Mr Trump has needed, and FOUND timely allies when he's wanted to stretch out the bounds of acceptable pandemic public behavior. Kristie Noem is def one of these timely allies. When she indulged him w a giant

6. congregate in-person fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore she proudly declared there would be no masking or social distancing at the event. As if that was some type of achievement! And the crowd cheered. I hope those people are thinking about the foolishness of that now.

7. But there are LOTS of those people, and many of high ranking GOP officials and/or very rich people. And since that July 4th event, they've been doing some pretty stupid shit. And its all be driven by Trump, by this idea that they could simply turn their finger up at this virus

8. and in so doing, own the libs. And of course, this defied the reality on the ground, which continued to show us perfectly health people whose lungs would give out on them for no reason. Rare, yes, but not exactly exceedingly bc stories of dead couples weren't constrained to

9. really old people. Story after story of couples who died a couple of days apart, some in their 30s. Orphaned children who brought the virus home from summer camps and then found themselves, orphans- it's mind-blowing and certainly nothing most of us want to tango with. And yet

10. scene after scene at the WH- this event, that signing event, this meeting, groups of people, no masks shaking hands, stacked in shoulder to shoulder. To classify it as "cavalier" is a massive understatement. The idea that daily testing meant they were safe- well even Trump

11. can understand the weaknesses in that system and how infection can, and did, breakthrough. Yet the group acted as if there was no such thing as COVID19 and that even if there WAS, it was, at best, a cold. Certainly, nothing to worry over. And the unwilling people dependent

12. on this crazy train for their employment? They are basically hostages to irresponsibility and this defiance that everyone saw a taste of when Trump made fun of Biden for wearing a mask at the debate. The truth is, the behavior of the pres and his entourage is so irresponsible

12. that they should be treated in the way I treat my high risk college-age son, who can't enter my home. If someone is engaged in risky behavior (exposing themselves to many people, for example) than they sure as hell shouldn't be able to enter a debate hall and not wear a damn

13. mask- bc they are high risk and their decisions for that behavior bear consequences, or potential consequences up to death for others. In this case, for the next 14 days, attendees, up to and including Trump's opponent Vice prez Joe Biden who is in a high-risk category for

14. severe covid due to his age will now spend the next 14 days wondering, worried, and dealing w stress and anxiety of coming up positive for a virus that could kill him. It is the height of irresponsibility and selfishness to behave in ways in which you are quite literally a

15. danger to those around u (like being a drunk driver on the road) but that is what covid deniers are. Indulging them, even when they are the president and his family should never take precedence over the safety of Americans who are acting responsibly and to the CDC guidelines.

16. The White House may be the president's home, but its the American people's house and those that work for it, and within it should not be subjected to this bullshit either.