To register for a spot at President Donald Trump’s first campaign rally since the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered much of the United States in March, prospective attendees must first agree not to sue either the Trump campaign or the venue if they contract coronavirus during the event — a requirement critics say is an attempt by the president’s team to evade responsibility for moving ahead with a hazardous indoor gathering.
“By clicking register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to Covid-19 exists in any public place where people are present,” reads a paragraph at the bottom of the registration form for Trump’s planned rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Juneteenth. “By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to Covid-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; BOK Center; ASM Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury.”
Oklahoma, which began reopening its economy last month, has recorded more than 7,600 coronavirus cases and at least 357 deaths. The president’s Tulsa rally is slated to take place inside the BOK Center, which boasts a seat capacity of nearly 19,200.
As the Associated Press reported, “arena marketing director Meghan Blood said Thursday that she didn’t know yet about any plans for social distancing or other coronavirus precautions for Trump’s rally, which would be one of the larger public gatherings in the U.S. at this stage of the outbreak.”
The Trump campaign said the president will also soon hold rallies in Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona — three states that are currently seeing a surge in new Covid-19 infections.
Catherine Sharkey, a professor at New York University School of Law, told CNN Thursday that liability waivers are likely to become commonplace in the U.S. as states continue the process reopening their economies.
“They only give limited protections, so they never would protect against, for example, gross negligence or recklessness,” said Sharkey. “One could argue that holding a large public gathering that will draw people together in a context in which they’re not able to do social distancing or follow the directive of the CDC, et cetera. One could argue that is grossly negligent.”
Unreal. As Trump resumes indoor rallies, his campaign has implemented a new policy that attendees CANNOT SUE if they contract coronavirus at an event.
Trump supporters, please think about what this means: the man does not care if you live or die.https://t.co/T64Niw5ULn
— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) June 12, 2020
Robert Weissman, president of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, warned in a statement late Thursday that indoor campaign rallies “are extremely likely to spread the coronavirus, particularly if Trump discourages attendees from wearing masks either explicitly or by example.”
“The Trump campaign may have shied away from such a move if it could be held accountable for the resulting illness and potential deaths that are likely to follow,” said Weissman. “Instead, it aims to escape liability and any measure of accountability by forcing attendees to waive their rights through contract terms that they are unlikely even to notice.”
“Immunity from lawsuits encourages irresponsible and reckless behavior, and undermines public health, as the Trump campaign is now shamefully making clear,” Weissman added. “Congress must learn from the bad Trump campaign example and protect the rights of workers, patients, and consumers. That means no immunity for businesses and entities that engage in unreasonable conduct that endangers people by exposing them to the coronavirus.”
Political scientist Miranda Yaver tweeted that the president knows “his campaign rallies have significant potential to be super-spreader events, especially as many states see increases in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.”
“He doesn’t care, so long as he’s not liable,” Yaver wrote. “Classic Trump.”
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re shoring up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy