WHO ATTENDED? DONALD TRUMP, DAN SULLIVAN…
On Saturday, the New Jersey Department of Health notified the Maryland Department of Health that a person confirmed with the coronavirus had attended the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland from February 27-March 1.
“Those who attended or worked at the conference may be at some risk for acquiring COVID-19,” according to a statement from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
Speakers at the 2020 gathering included Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, as well as President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
In fact, numerous people from the Trump Administration also spoke at the conference: Sec. of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, Sec. of Energy Dan Broillette, Sec. of Transportation Elaine Chao, Sec. of Education Betsy DeVos, Sec. of State Michael Pompeo, Acting Director of OMB Russell Vought, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., Sen. Ted Cruz, along with a long list of other political luminaries. Even Ronna McDaniels, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee was there.
In other words, practically the entire leadership of the Republican Party.
“Immediately after learning of this individual’s interactions in our state, we began coordinating with the White House, the CDC and federal officials, the New Jersey Department of Health, Prince George’s County officials, and conference organizers,” said Gov. Hogan.
“Due to the scale of this conference, we are urging attendees who are experiencing flu-like symptoms to immediately reach out to their health care provider. We are providing this update not to unnecessarily raise alarm, but in the interest of full transparency and out of an abundance of caution,” he said.
The Maryland Health Department asks that those who attended the conference monitor themselves for symptoms of a respiratory infection including fever, cold-like symptoms, cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
“Persons who attended this event should check their temperature twice a day and notify their health care provider and local health department if their temperature exceeds 100.4 or if they develop a respiratory illness. They should remain at home until they receive instructions about next steps from their health care provider or local health department,” the official statement said.
The White House said it had investigated and found the chances are low that the president or vice president had been in contact with the attendee who subsequently tested positive and is being treated and quarantined.
A Washington Post reporter, however, begs to differ. Colby Itkowitz wrote, almost excitedly, that “CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp tells me he interacted with attendee who has tested positive for coronavirus. While the timeline is unknown, Schlapp shook Trump’s hand on stage the last day of the conference.”
To which a number of liberals on Twitter responded with glee at the thought of taking down the government with a virus.
CPAC is the major political gathering each year for conservatives and this year’s attendance was said to be over 19,000. The event started in 1974, with just 400 in attendance; the keynote speaker that year was California Gov. Ronald Reagan. This year it was President Trump.
