Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Deadline

Donald Trump Claims Members Of His Golf Club Can Go Maskless Because They Came To Presser As “Peaceful” Protesters Of Media

Ted Johnson
Updated
2 min read

Donald Trump scheduled a last-minute press conference at his Bedminster, NJ, golf club on Friday evening, in part to threaten to sign an executive order if Democrats don’t give in on demands for COVID-19 relief.

But when members of the White House pool traveling with the president showed up, standing in the back of the room were members and guests at the country club, many of them not wearing masks.

More from Deadline

Masks were handed out to the members just before the president arrived, but one reporter queried Trump on the scene.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“You said that the pandemic is disappearing, but we lost 6,000 Americans, and just in this room, you have dozens of people who are not following the guidelines in New Jersey,” the reporter said.

The Bedminster guests then started booing.

“You are wrong in that, because it is a political activity. They have exceptions, and it is also a peaceful protest,” Trump said, as the crowd then clapped.

Trump added, “To me they look like they pretty much all have masks on.”

By then, the press conference began to resemble a mini-rally, as Trump suggested that the club members were protesting the media and therefore exempt from state COVID-19 orders.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“They heard you were coming up, and they know the news is fake. They know that better than anybody,” he said.

He added, “If the press in this country were honest, it wasn’t corrupt it wasn’t fake, our country would be much further ahead.”

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Advertisement
Advertisement