CNN anchor Ana Cabrera blasted President Donald Trump’s campaign adviser Jason Miller on Sunday for falsely claiming that the president followed social distancing and mask protocols prior to his diagnosis with COVID-19.
The interview began with Cabrera asking Miller about the president’s joyride on Sunday, in which Trump left the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to wave to supporters from a car while still undergoing treatment for COVID-19.
After Miller claimed Trump was feeling better and that compelled him to make the trip, Cabrera challenged him: “How does a stunt like this ― that not only puts a spotlight on the inequities on the president’s cavalier attitude to this virus, but endangers the lives of others ― help his campaign?”
Miller argued that this wasn’t a stunt, but rather a show of graciousness for supporters, but Cabrera countered that Trump could have kept doing that via the videos he has posted on Twitter. Miller claimed that the Secret Service took the risk seriously and took great care.
“He can’t just stay locked up, whether it be in the attic or basement, forever,” said Miller. (In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a person should stay isolated for at least 10 days after first showing symptoms.)
Cabrera pushed back on Miller, insisting Trump has been “downplaying the virus” and citing the recent Washington Post audio tapes that reveal Trump admitting he intentionally downplayed this coronavirus pandemic.
“He hasn’t worn a mask every time. He’s been holding these rallies without social distancing, with most of the people in the crowd not wearing masks either,” she said, adding: “Even as he goes out there, Jason, he is not taking the simple precautions that could save lives. He’s encouraging his supporters to come to his campaign rallies.”
As the pair continued to talk over each other, with Cabrera offering examples of Trump not adhering to protocol and Miller defending him, CNN cut to video and images of Trump’s crowded rallies where supporters are clearly not social distancing or wearing masks.
Miller insisted that the White House has been doing everything it can to implement mask-wearing and distancing, which Cabrera slammed with a simple statement: “Jason, let’s be clear: The president is in the hospital right now because he contracted the virus and he has put himself at risk by conducting the business the way he has and conducting some of these events.”