Donald Trump’s lawyer coughs his way through interview criticising masks
Rudy Giuliani was awaiting test results at the time.
Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani coughed his way through an interview as he awaited his coronavirus test results.
Speaking to Fox New on Monday night, the former Mayor of New York criticised presidential election hopeful Joe Biden for ‘making a political statement to scare people’ by wearing a mask while appearing on stage.
A few hours after the interview Giuliani said on Twitter that his first test came back negative and it is thought he is awaiting results for a second, which he took a few hours before his appearance.
While talking to host Martha MacCallum he bragged about how he hadn’t caught Covid-19 yet, despite the fact things were far from certain at that point.
Playing down the effectiveness of face coverings, he said: ‘Just to play devil’s advocate, [Biden] would probably say, “I haven’t gotten Covid and the president did, and he’s not a big fan of wearing masks”.
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‘And I haven’t either, and I don’t wear masks as much as probably I should … What they claim is science is nonsense.’
As Giuliani coughed and spluttered his way through the interview, he tried to portray Biden as cowardly for wanting to cancel or postpone upcoming presidential debates unless medics could sign off on their safety.
The lawyer added: ‘I would say to Joe that you don’t really understand what scientists are. First of all, listen to your doctors, that’s for sure, they know your personal history, doctors really aren’t scientists.
‘Scientists almost always have competing opinions, that’s what sciences is about. Science isn’t a didactic, dogmatic religion. Almost every principle of this kin of science – medical science – has conflicting opinions.
‘It isn’t science to be wearing that mask, Joe, when you are giving a speech and people are 30-40 feet away from you.
‘The only thing you can infect is the teleprompter that’s near you. So, I see through you. That’s a political statement to scare people, wearing that mask. You do not need that mask when you are standing at a podium.’
A growing number of White House staff and senior republicans have tested positive for coronavirus since Trump revealed on Friday that he and First Lady Melania had caught the respiratory disease.
People close to Trump who've recently tested positive
- Stephen Miller – senior White House adviser and top speechwriter – said he tested positive on Tuesday and was in quarantine.
- Jalen Drummond – assistant press secretary – diagnosis reported on Tuesday, after attending the September 26 Rose Garden ceremony for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
- Admiral Charles Ray – Vice commandant of the US Coast Guard – tested positive on Monday. The Pentagon said top military leaders are self-isolating.
- Jayna Maccarron – top military aide to Trump – diagnosis reported on Tuesday.
- One of Trump’s valets – travelled with the President last week and also tested positive.
- Chad Gilmartin – White House press office staffer – tested positive over weekend.
- Karoline Leavitt – White House communications aide – tested positive for Covid-19.
- Kayleigh Mcenany – White House press secretary – said she had tested positive on Monday and that she is experiencing no symptoms
- Hope Hicks – close adviser to Trump who often travelled with him on the Air Force One and Marine One presidential aircraft – tested positive on Thursday.
- Melania Trump – Diagnosis announced on Friday after the president carried out a busy week of events.
- Ronna McDaniel – Republication National Committee chair who had frequent contact with Trump – said she tested positive on Friday and was quarantining at home in Michigan.
- Senator Ron Johnson – head of Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – tested positive on Friday.
- Senator Thom Tillis – said he tested positive on Friday, after attending a September 26 Oval Office meeting with Barrett.
- Senator Mike Lee – another senator on the Judiciary Committee – said he tested positive on Friday after attending the same Oval Office meeting.
- Bill Stepien – Trump’s campaign manager – tested positive on Friday and will work from home, according to a senior campaign official.
- Governor Chris Christie = Former New Jersey Governor said on Saturday he was checking himself into hospital as a precautionary measure after testing positive.
- Kellyanne Conway – Former counselor to Trump – Said on Friday she had tested positive, after September 26 Rose Garden ceremony for Barrett.
- John Jenkins – The University of Notre Dame president, who also attended the White House ceremony, said on Friday he had tested positive.
- Nicholas Luna – Assistant and ‘body man’ to Trump, who accompanies the president day and night, has tested positive, two White House officials told CNN.
The President returned to the White House on Monday after just a few days in hospital and ripped off his mask in front of cameras, but he appeared to be gasping for air, despite claiming he felt ‘very good’.
He told Americans to ‘not be afraid’ of Covid-19 and to not let the virus ‘dominate your life’, three days after allegedly asking doctors ‘am I going to die?’
Trump was censored on Twitter for suggesting that coronavirus is like the flu. He wrote: ‘Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu.
‘Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!’
In less than a year coronavirus has infected 7,501,816 people and has killed 210,909, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Covid-19 deaths have surpassed the past five flu seasons combined.
Trump has announced he will travel to Miami on October 15 to debate Biden. On Monday he tweeted that he was ‘FEELING GREAT’.
For Thursday’s debate between vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and vice president Mike Pence, Plexiglass will be used as a barrier between the two candidates.
Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller poked fun at the idea of using proper health guidelines to protect each other from spreading Covid-19. She said: ‘If Senator Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it.’
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