Around New England

Seth Moulton Defends Mass Protests While Ripping Trump Rallies Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

June 15, 2020

Congressman Seth Moulton slammed President Donald Trump for wanting to hold rallies amid the coronavirus pandemic, but simultaneously defended protestors gathering in large numbers and violating social distancing orders.

Moulton, a Democrat from Salem who represents Massachusetts’s Sixth Congressional District, said comparing the two isn’t reasonable, during an appearance Sunday, June 14 on WCVB-TV Channel 5’s On the Record.

“When Trump holds rallies and doesn’t even have people wear face masks, doesn’t practice social distancing, and all it is, is a goal of political re-electing the president, that’s not serving the country,” Moulton told hosts Ed Harding and Janet Wu. “That’s not doing the right thing for America from the Oval Office. Now that’s very different than people out fighting for civil rights, fighting for our basic constitutional values by protesting in the streets. If you look at these protesters, they’re peaceful and most of them are wearing masks to make sure that they are safe. Look, we could find out that these large protests have an effect on the pandemic as well. But the protests are necessary right now to uphold our constitutional values. Political rallies for the president? They are not necessary.”

Trump’s next rally is scheduled for Saturday, June 20 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to his campaign web site.

According to Infection2020.com, a web site that keeps track of coronavirus cases across the country, 0.24 percent of Tulsa County, Oklahoma has been infected with coronavirus. In Suffolk County, Massachusetts, which includes Boston, 2.4 percent of the population has coronavirus. In New York City, which has been hardest hit by the virus, 2.6 percent of the population has it.

Wu pressed Moulton further on the issue, noting that she had seen many protesters not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. She asked “If it turns out that there is going to be sort of kickback from these rallies and more people getting sick, would you say they need to be cancelled?”

Moulton disagreed.

“I would say that people need to wear masks,” Moulton said. “People need to be careful and safe. But I am never going to stifle protest in our country. I mean, we are a country that was literally founded by dissenters, by people who were willing to stand up for the values that are so important to all of us. And that patriotic duty is exactly what you’re seeing right now in the streets of America.”