Trump and Pence are fine with their evangelical base dying — so long as the photo ops continue

AlterNet logoSing for dear leader; die for dear leader.

On Sunday, Politico posted a story speculating on whether or not Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and the rest of the White House team would have to “reassess” their demands that churches be allowed to hold unrestricted services during the COVID-19 pandemic despite numerous “super-spreader” events now demonstrating that it. Is. Not. Safe.

Politico needn’t have bothered. Only hours afterwards, Mike Pence was the guest of honor at a Dallas, Texas megachurch rally that featured a choir of 100 unmasked singers and a packed audienceeven as Texas reeled from skyrocketing new COVID-19 cases. There’s your answer, everyone who wasted their time wondering whether Trump and Pence would continue to risk the lives of their most fervent evangelical supporters in exchange for the visuals of crowds cheering them. They genuinely don’t care if evangelicals live or die as long as they can squeeze a bit of footage out of each event. Continue reading.