Editor's Note:
Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of the daily radio show "The Dean Obeidallah Show" on SiriusXM, and a columnist for The Daily Beast.
Follow him on @DeanObeidallah.
The opinions expressed in this comment are yours.
See more opinion pieces at cnne.com/opinion
(CNN) -
Welcome to Donald Trump's "Covid-19 Hunger Games: Campaign edition."
That's the only way to describe Trump's continued mockery at his campaign rallies of the measures in place to keep people safe from the new coronavirus.
We saw another example Saturday night when Trump held a rally in Nevada that violated state rules on limiting events to 50 people, ignored the state's mask mandate, and jammed people on top of one another.
Additionally, official Nevada statistics show that the state currently has a worrying covid-19 test positivity rate of 9.5%, with cases growing at a rate of 0.4% (299 new cases per day) during the most recent seven-day period recorded by Nevada Health Response (New York, by contrast, has been for more than a month with a positivity rate of less than 1%).
The World Health Organization has advised states not to reopen until the positivity rate is 5% or less for 14 days.
LOOK: "Trump violates the sanctity of private property," says professor at Amherst College
But none of that apparently matters to Trump, as long as he gets the optics of a large crowd who think he looks good for his 2020 campaign. That helps explain why, after the rally, Trump tweeted photos of the event on the that people without masks appeared crowded.
Trump even shared a video clip of his fans running from an enclosed area to the front of the stage, which looked like the start of a covid-19-themed game show.
I was hoping to hear Trump lure supporters by yelling, "First 25 to go on stage get a month's supply of hydroxychloroquine!"
At the rally, Trump lied to supporters about why it was taking place in the city of Minden and not at the Reno airport, where it was originally scheduled, noting that it was because Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, He "tried to stop us."
"We didn't," tweeted Meghin Delaney, Sisolak's press secretary.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that it was actually Reno airport officials who prevented the rally there, citing the 50-person restriction on crowd gatherings.
Earlier in the week, Trump held a rally in North Carolina that again ignored state social distancing mandates to limit gatherings to 50 people and wear masks.
These measures are in place for one reason: to save lives from a deadly pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 193,000 Americans since March.
In the last week alone, with an average of 850 deaths per day, hundreds more Americans have died from Covid-19 than during the 9/11 attacks.
Sure, the Trump campaign tells the media: "All attendees will have a temperature check prior to admission, will be provided with a mask that they are encouraged to wear, and will have access to plenty of hand sanitizer."
But the photos show that no masks are used.
If Trump really wanted to ensure the safety of his supporters rather than feed his ego, he could simply tell them at the rally to put on their masks and keep a safe distance from each other.
Trump is not shy when it comes to sharing his views on issues he is passionate about.
Trump isn't just exposing his supporters to the virus at the rally.
It is also sending an alarming message to the nation that social distancing mandates can be ignored.
This is more than irresponsible, it borders on the sinister, since Trump fully understands how easily this virus can be transmitted and be fatal.
We now know that as of February 7, Trump told Washington Post reporter Woodward in a phone call made public last week that COVID-19 was highly contagious as it could be transmitted over the air and that it was five times "more deadly" than the flu.
LOOK: "Human beings do not learn," says Dr. Elmer Huerta before Trump and his event yesterday in Nevada
Additionally, Trump should be aware that following his Tulsa campaign rally in late June, there was an increase in covid-19 cases in the Tulsa area, which local health officials believed was related to his event.
In fact, it was at this very rally that former Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain was seen without a mask.
Cain was diagnosed with COVID-19 shortly after, and died of the virus weeks later.
While it's unclear whether Cain contracted the virus at Trump's rally, it should sound Trump's alarm bells about that possibility.
The bottom line is this: Trump will always do what is best for Trump.
In this case, it means holding large campaign rallies that violate covid-19 security measures, simply because Trump believes that could help him win re-election, even if it means more of his supporters are exposed to a virus than he is. knows it's deadly.
If Trump is not worried about his supporters getting COVID-19, why would anyone believe that he cares that the 51% of Americans who do not support him get sick?
Or even die.
Donald trump