HHS Secretary Azar says public health protocols don’t apply to president’s inner circle

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Democratic lawmakers were incredulous after Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Friday testified following President Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis that the Trump family can’t be expected to take the precautions that public health experts recommend, while also claiming the spread of the coronavirus to more than 7.3 million Americans is a matter of “individual responsibility.”

Testifying before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis as Trump reportedly began developing Covid-19 symptoms, Azar told Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) that the president’s family did not wear masks at the first presidential debate last Tuesday because “the first family and the protective aspect around the president is a different situation than the rest of us.”

Despite the fact that at least two members of the Trump family are now ill, Azar suggested the family is in “a protective bubble.” Continue reading.