With President Donald Trump and many of his Republican allies in the White House having been infected with COVID-19, many of his critics are warning that setting foot inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue could be a health threat. But one needn't be a Trump critic to feel that way. None other than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has, in essence, admitted that he hasn't been inside the White House in two months because of the lack of social distancing precautions.
"I haven't actually been to the White House since August the 6th," McConnell said. "Because my impression was that their approach to how to handle this is different from mine and what I suggested that we do in the Senate, which is to wear a mask and practice social distancing."
The remarks came at an event in Kentucky, streamed on Facebook.
It was a striking admission, given that President Donald Trump has faced withering criticism for his failure to handle the pandemic in the United States, which has now killed more than 210,000 people. Critics have argued that the recent outbreak of cases at the White House, affecting many top officials including the president himself and which may have centered around the ceremony celebrating the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Other prominent Republicans who have recently tested positive for COVID-19, in addition to Trump, include long-time adviser Kellyanne Conway, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Senior Adviser Stephen Miller, Bill Stepien (Trump's campaign director), Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, among others.
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