Nothing like entering a coronavirus hot stop to hold a packed rally with no social distancing and very few masks. Donald Trump spoke to a crowd estimated to be in the thousands in Iowa Wednesday night. Guidance from his own White House calls Iowa a “red zone” where gatherings should be limited to no more than 25 people. This comes as the Des Moines Register reports, “Iowa continues to have twice as many new coronavirus infections as the national average.”

The Oct. 4 White House task force report warned that Iowa was suffering “many preventable deaths” from COVID-19. The task force has previously recommended steps such as requiring people to wear masks in public. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has rebuffed such recommendations, saying that they are unenforceable and that she trusts residents to take proper precautions.

Reynolds, a Republican and close ally of Trump’s, appeared at Wednesday evening’s crowded Des Moines rally for the president. 

On Good Morning America today Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor was asked about the dangers of holding an event like this. He replied:

“It’s so clear that when you have congregate settings and so many people and in a situation where the community infection rate is there you can’t run away from or argue with the numbers. When you have a high community spread and you’re in a situation where we know you can get spread acquisition and transmission, particularly when people are not wearing masks is not a good thing. That’s a high-risk endeavor.” 

But supporters told Jim Acosta seeing Trump is worth the risk. One woman even said, “if I’m going to get sick and die, I guess it’s my turn. I trust God and I’m not scared.”