Maskless at Trump acceptance speech, Tillis says: ‘I fell short of my own standard’
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis has been adamant about the need to wear face coverings and be socially distant from others, repeatedly highlighting those precautions as keys to defeating COVID-19.
Tillis, a Republican facing re-election in 2020, attended President Donald Trump’s Republican National Convention acceptance speech Thursday night on the White House’s South Lawn. More than 1,000 people were there, sitting shoulder to shoulder with few wearing face coverings. There was not universal testing for attendees.
“I’ve stressed the importance of mask wearing throughout this pandemic and have tried to lead by example on this issue, but last night I fell short of my own standard,” Tillis said in a statement Friday.
The speech originally was scheduled for Charlotte, but Trump moved the signature event after disagreements with Gov. Roy Cooper over social distancing and limited capacity in the arena. Four people at Monday’s limited RNC event tested positive for the coronavirus.
Tillis posted a photo of himself wearing a face mask before Thursday’s event started, but was captured on camera not wearing a face mask in the middle of the crowd later on.
Tillis is in a tight race with Democratic nominee Cal Cunningham. The race is considered a toss-up — though Cunningham has led in a series of recent polls — and could determine control of the U.S. Senate.
“The difference between Cal Cunningham and I is that I can accept responsibility for my actions,” Tillis said in the statement, before attacking Cunningham over his use of an historic tax credit and his votes while in the state Senate, adding, “while he lies and makes excuses for his, like how he has misused taxpayer dollars for his own personal gain and broke his promise not to raise taxes on hardworking North Carolinians.”
The Cunningham campaign used the incident to buttress its claims that Tillis is not willing to stand up to members of his own party, including Trump — a central theme of its attacks against Tillis. A spokeswoman called it “blatant hypocrisy.”
“Sen. Thom Tillis criticized folks for not wearing masks, until Washington Republicans were the culprits. His attendance last night shows North Carolinians that the rules don’t apply to his colleagues in Washington — and that his talk about fighting this pandemic is just that: talk,” Cunningham wrote in a tweet Friday morning.
North Carolina has had more than 162,000 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 2,600 deaths.
During a campaign event in Raleigh on Wednesday, Tillis demonstrated how to properly wear a mask by covering the nose as well as the mouth. He has been holding roundtable events with just a few others this week, often spaced around a table. During his regular telephone town hall events, Tillis repeatedly tells callers to wear marks and practice social distancing. He conducts polls asking those on the line about their mask-wearing habits.
“I don’t think it’s an imposition or impolite to be very forceful on the idea of people wearing a mask when they go out in public. You’re creating a bigger challenge for health care workers, for essential employees and everybody else if you don’t wear a mask,” Tillis said during an April call.
In July, when cases were spiking among Hispanics in North Carolina, Tillis said “we do have some concerns that in the Hispanic population we have seen less consistent adherence to social distancing and wearing a mask.”
In an email to supporters earlier this month, Tillis called masks “a sign of courtesy and respect for others.” The email was titled: “Wear a mask to protect you, your neighbor, and your communities.”
“Wearing a facial covering is a visible sign of courtesy and respect for others. That’s because while facial coverings can help protect you from contracting the virus, they are especially effective at protecting those around you from being exposed if you have COVID-19,” Tillis wrote. “And remember that wearing a facial covering not only helps save lives, it will also help save jobs.”
State health officials have touted “the 3 Ws” for dealing with the coronavirus: wear (a cloth mask over your nose and mouth), wait (six feet apart and avoid close contact) and wash (your hands or use hand sanitizer).
Cunningham has not participated in in-person campaign events since the pandemic started. He did march with protesters in Raleigh on June 8. In a photo posted on Twitter, he and others were wearing masks while participating in the march.
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This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Maskless at Trump acceptance speech, Tillis says: ‘I fell short of my own standard’."
