Trump failed to enforce lockdown rules on own daughter

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Trump wants social distancing rules during Ramadan to be same as Easter

President Donald Trump speaks during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington

AP pic 

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Saturday he hopes US Muslims will be held to the same social distancing standards during Ramadan as Christians at Easter, when a number of faithful chafed against coronavirus-related restrictions on large gatherings.

The US president made the comments after being asked to defend a retweet of a conservative commentator who seemed to question whether Muslims would be treated with the same severity as Christians who broke social distancing rules.

“I would say that there could be a difference,” Trump said during his daily coronavirus press conference. “And we’ll have to see what will happen. Because I’ve seen a great disparity in this country.”

“They go after Christian churches but they don’t tend to go after mosques,” he said.

Ramadan, which begins at sunset on Thursday, falls a week and a half after Easter, when some Christians bucked public health regulations to attend illicit services.

Asked whether he thought imams would refuse to follow social distancing orders, Trump responded: “No, I don’t think that at all.”

“I am somebody that believes in faith. And it matters not what your faith is. But our politicians seem to treat different faiths very differently.”

Trump has been accused of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the past and one of his first acts upon entering office was to ban travellers from several Muslim-majority countries.

More than 700,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the United States, forcing religious communities across the country to shutter their doors.

The Islamic Society of North America, alongside Muslim medical experts, has urged the suspension of group prayers, among other gatherings.

Despite similar measures taken across much of the Christian community, a Virginia pastor who continued to preach in defiance of stay-at-home rules died a week ago of coronavirus.

Jewish Americans were likewise forced to turn traditional Passover seders into virtual affairs when the eight-day holiday began at sundown on April 8.

This file photo taken on May 23 shows Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner, senior adviser to Trump, arriving at Rome's Fiumicino Airport.

Ivanka and Kushner ignored federal recommendations during the coronavirus lockdown so they could travel for Passover celebrations

AFP/Filippo Monteforte


From Jakarta Post:

President Donald Trump's powerful daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner ignored federal recommendations during the coronavirus lockdown so they could travel for Passover celebrations, the White House confirmed Thursday.

They went from their home in Washington, DC, to one of the Trump family's golf resorts in Bedminster, New Jersey, to mark the Jewish holiday, which began April 8 and ends Thursday.

The White House, confirming a story first reported by The New York Times, said the trip did not involve any more outside contact than if Trump and Kushner had stayed put.

"Ivanka -- with her immediate family -- celebrated Passover at a closed down facility considered to be a family home. Her travel was no different than if had she been traveling to/from work and the location was less populated than the surrounding area near her home in D.C.," a statement said.

"While at Bedminster she has been practicing social distancing and working remotely. Her travel was not commercial. She chose to spend a holiday in private with her family."

Washington, DC, has a "stay-at-home" order, meaning that people should avoid non-essential travel.

This is in line with White House advice to "avoid discretionary travel," forcing millions of Americans nationwide to exchange their traditional family gatherings over the Easter and Passover weekend for online get-togethers.

Ivanka Trump, who doubles as a presidential advisor, has used her social media fame to plead with Americans to respect the guidelines to help slow COVID-19's spread.

"Those lucky enough to be in a position to stay at home, please, please do so," she said in a homemade video at the end of March.

"Every one of us plays a role in slowing the spread, and social distancing saves lives," she said, acknowledging the "enormous challenge individually and collectively" for people under lockdown.

Kushner, who like Trump was born into a wealthy real estate dealing family, is also a senior advisor and has been made a key figure in the White House's attempt to handle the virus and the ensuing economic calamity.

Kushner is Jewish and Ivanka converted before marrying.