Hundreds of seats fill the White House Lawn for Trump's convention speech — and social distancing isn't an option


President Trump's Republican National Convention speech has become a public health risk.
Anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 guests are expected to watch Trump's speech in person Thursday night, including many from outside of the Washington, D.C. area — a direct violation of the city's ban on mass gatherings. It's unclear if masks will be required, but social distancing definitely won't be, judging by photos of the seating setup on the White House's South Lawn. Dozens of rows of white chairs are lined side by side, with no visible evidence of additional spacing or other pandemic-related precautions.
Trump's campaign said a medical firm was hired to keep guests safe, per CBS News. But given the short supply of tests in the U.S., that rapid coronavirus antigen tests aren't as accurate as the slower molecular tests, and that Trump has a few coronavirus skeptics among his fan base, it might not be long before Trump's speech is being described as the latest super-spreader event.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
-
Trump blames Biden for tariffs-linked contraction
speed read The US economy shrank 0.3% in the first three months of 2025, the Commerce Department reported
-
Trump says he could bring back Ábrego García but won't
Speed Read At a rally to mark his 100th day in office, the president doubled down on his unpopular immigration and economic policies