Donald Trump says he was tempted to allow churches a social distancing exemption for Easter holiday – and says he’ll be watching services on a laptop
- President Trump said Saturday he was tempted to allow churches a social distancing exemption to celebrate Easter
- The president said one of his advisers talked him down from the idea
- ‘Do we want to take a chance in doing that when we’ve been doing so well?’ Trump quoted the adviser as saying
- The president said he would instead be listening to Palm and Easter Sunday services on a laptop
- Trump shared that for Palm Sunday he would be tuning into pastor Greg Laurie who has a church in Riverside, California
President Trump said Saturday that he was tempted to allow churches a social distancing exemption to celebrate Easter.
‘And I brought it up before, I said, “maybe we could allow special – for churches – maybe we could talk about it, maybe we could allow them for great separation outside on Easter Sunday,’ he said at the White House press briefing. ‘But somebody did say that, “well, then you’re sort of opening up to that little – do we want to take a chance in doing that when we’ve been doing so well?”‘
The president then said like many Americans he would watch both Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday services by laptop.
President Trump said Saturday that he was tempted to allow exemptions for churches on social distancing guidelines to celebrate Easter Sunday
Trump said he’ll be watching Palm and Easter Sunday services on his laptop. Here he’s photographed with daughter Tiffany and wife Melania at the Bethesda-by-the-Sea church in Palm Beach, Florida on Easter 2018
After the briefing President Trump tweeted Saturday night that he’d be listening to pastor Greg Laurie perform Palm Sunday services
‘I’m going to be watching tomorrow live from Riverside, California, great church,’ the president said.
He later tweeted more details saying he would be tuning into pastor Greg Laurie’s sermon from the Harvest Church in the California town.
Laurie is a vocal supporter of the president.
Trump said he would do the same in a week, marking the Easter holiday.
‘I think on Easter maybe I’ll be watching on a laptop,’ he said.
The president then bemoaned how social distancing to combat the coronavirus spread has impacted holy week for those of Christian faiths.
The annual White House Easter Egg Roll has already been cancelled. Trump indicated he’ll be watching Palm and Easter Sunday services from a computer this year
‘How said is it we have … Palm and Easter Sunday and people are watching on laptops and computers,’ he said.
The large White House event, the annual Easter Egg Roll, has been cancelled.
At Saturday’s press briefing, Trump tried to prepare the nation for what is expected to be a rough week in terms of coronavirus deaths.
‘There will be a lot of death, unfortunately. But a lot less death than if this wasn’t done,’ he said of the stay at home orders almost every state has in place, as well as the federal government’s social distancing guidelines.
Vice President Mike Pence made sure to point out that the week was also Holy Week for American Christians.
The president had originally wanted to start reopening American businesses by Easter Sunday but changed his tune last Sunday announcing the federal social distancing guidelines would stay in place until the end of April.