US President Donald Trump on Saturday doubled down on his support of maskless anti-lockdown protesters who insulted and bullied a reporter covering their demonstration in Long Island, New York. This time, Trump hailed the protesters as “great people,” noting: “People can’t get enough of this.”
The previous day Trump blasted the report of the confrontation as “fake news” — even though it was on video.
News 12 Long Island journalist Kevin Vesey reported on the demonstration against COVID-19 safety measures in Commack on Thursday. Video captured protesters yelling at Vesey and insulting him. One man without a mask deliberately advanced on Vesey, who pleaded with him to back off.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against gathering in crowds, and urges wearing a mask in such situations, and maintaining 6 feet of social distance.
Vesey, who recently recovered from COVID-19, called the level of anger against him “alarming.”
Vesey posted another video of the unidentified maskless man who advanced on him. “I was insulted, I was berated. I was practically chased by people who refused to wear masks in the middle of a pandemic,” he tweeted.
Twitter critics slammed Trump’s response to those intimidating the reporter and ignoring CDC guidelines.