Is 'Social Distancing' the Escape Melania Has Dreamed About?

By Esther Wang | May 12, 2020 | 3:30pm

Politics

Is 'Social Distancing' the Escape Melania Has Dreamed About?

Melania Trump has been taking the directive to wear a face mask and practice social distancing much more seriously than her husband, who refuses to do even the bare minimum and slap a mask on his bloated face, reportedly out of fear that he would look “ridiculous,” a ship that has someone should tell him has sadly already sailed. According to CNN’s Kate Bennett, since the beginning of April, Melania has “increased coronavirus prevention methods to include mandatory masks in the East Wing and in the residence.” Timing wise, this corresponds roughly with the release of the CDC’s guidelines around masking, so kudos, I guess, for doing the bare minimum!

Her policy stands in stark contrast to that of the West Wing, which only instituted mandatory masking—for everyone except Donald Trump—on Monday, after Donald’s personal valet and Katie Miller, Mike Pence’s aide and a woman who I assume has had sex with Stephen Miller, both tested positive for covid-19. These two vastly different approaches to health and safety, coupled with the revealing tidbit that Melania’s masking rules extend to the executive residence, has me wondering—has Melania used the covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to finally socially distance herself from her husband, a man whom she claims to love but also a man whose death she would, according to Trump himself, not shed a tear over?

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As CNN’s Bennett reported, while people are required to wear masks in the East Wing as well as the executive residence, there is a contingency plan in place that sounds like it was possibly crafted to both acknowledge Melania’s husband’s aversion to mask-wearing and keep him as far away from her as possible. “If Trump finds herself in a situation where she is with someone in the White House who cannot social distance or wear a mask, that person is tested before she makes contact within six feet,” she wrote.

Unfortunately for Melania, as of May 7, her husband is now being tested daily for covid-19. Sorry, Melania!