Pre-Pandemic: Significant Trees

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On March 19, 2020, I did this last sketch for the Orlando Significant Trees series before settling in and isolating for the Covid-19 pandemic. This tree in Big Tree Park, (930 Thornton Avenue Orlando FL) is likely 350 to 400 years old. It is the oldest tree in Orlando. Live Oaks can live for centuries.

While doing this sketch a woman walking her dog approached to see what the sketch looked like. Because she got closer than 6 feet from me, I decided it was no longer a good idea to be doing drawings on location. The Covid-19 Pandemic had been announced on March 13, 2020 so it was rather foolish of me to have been thinking I could still sketch on location safely. Several other trees need to be sketched But I decided to wait to do these until after the new cases of Covid-19 infection level off for 14 days. That has yet to happen as new cases rise each day here in Florida.

On March 19, 2020 more than 14,200 people had tested positive in the U.S. and at least 187 had died. These numbers seem so small looking back. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide order for residents to stay at home. Floridians would not be asked to stay at home until April 3, 2020. The State Department told citizens who traveled abroad they should come home immediately or prepare to remain overseas. This rush back into the United States would result in a huge spike in cases in New York City as people who went untested upon return, poured into the city airports.

Projections models at the time predicted a possible 1.1 million deaths in America assuming there was little to no social distancing. A better scenario envisioned Americans embracing drastic restrictions and school closures, which would reduce the  death toll closer to the thousands as the country prepares for a grueling but surmountable road ahead. We are today somewhere between these very different scenarios with almost 2 million cases and 111,390 dead and rising.

 

Dreamland

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Donald Trump has decided to hit the campaign trail again with a rally in Tulsa Oklahoma on June 19, 2020 which happens to be Juneteenth or Emancipation Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the reading of the General Orders, No. 3, which officially informed slaves that they were free after the civil war. Tulsa was the site of one of the most vicious acts of racial violence in American history when, in 1921, a mob of white people attacked a section of the city known as Greenwood or “Black Wall Street” and murdered hundreds of African Americans. For a president who asserted that “both sides” were to blame for white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 this seems like a strange choice of venue.

This will be Trumps first time at a rally since March 2, 2020. He has desperately missed the rally’s, and fondly remembered the good old days. In a CNN national poll released earlier this week, 88% of black voters said they disapproved of the job Trump is doing in office. Ninety one percent disapproved of how he is handling race relations. And 88% said they would vote for Biden over Trump in a hypothetical general election match up. Trumps heavy handed actions on the issue police violence and racism speak far louder than any words he could at a rally.

Nation wide protests are bringing about change. Confederate statues are being topples and even NASCAR has decided to ban confederate flags, a symbol of hate from future race events. The Navy on Tuesday June 9, 2020 announced it would prohibit the Confederate battle flag from all its military installations, following the lead of the Marine Corps which last week began implementing a ban on its troops displaying the flag in any form. Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, filed an amendment to the annual defense bill last week to rename all bases named for Confederate generals. Anthony Brown, a retired Army Reserve colonel, said in a statement that scrubbing the names of Confederate leaders who took up arms against the United States would help ensure “an honest accounting of our history.” Trump has decided to reject this idea.

Registration for the event requires would-be attendees to acknowledge “that an inherent risk of exposure to Covid-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending the Rally, any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc liable for any illness or injury.” In other words, going to this crowded venue may result in death.Anyone who goes to this rally shouldl get tested for Covid-19 immediately afterwards to try and avoid infecting friends and family.

Tulsa has been under shelter-in-place orders since March 29th. One republican argued the case for going to the rally saying that protestors have been going to crowded demonstrations for some time. Tulsa has 986 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 44 dead. Oklahoma state had about 7,626 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 357 dead.

The Deadliest Place on Earth

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Walt Disney World has plans to open July 11, 2020 followed by Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom on July 15, 2020. The Orlando parks will have social distancing and wellness measures, including temperature screenings, wearings masks, keeping guests six feet apart while lining up for attractions and a guest reservation system to limit capacity.

Fireworks, parades, and character meet and greets have been suspended. Disney World also isn’t selling any new tickets for now, it will focus on guests who have existing tickets and reservations, like those who made bookings prior to the pandemic and had to postpone, as well as annual pass holders.

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground on June 22, 2020. Disney Springs shopping and dining area reopened May 20, 2020 with limited parking, fewer entrances, temperature screening before entry, masks required, physically distanced lines and barriers, reduced hours, no entertainment and more sanitation and disinfectants. Plenty of images circulated online however of guests not wearing their masks. One rumor circulated is that if you are holding a drink you don’t need to wear the mask. The bottom line is that enforcement seemed lax to non-existent. Americans in particular seem to resist the idea of protecting others by wearing a mask.

I spoke with one character actor who dreads the idea of getting back into a costume. Universal Studios opened the week of June 1, 2020. Many of the character meet and greets will still exist, but the characters will be kept in areas separate from the guests. Additionally, the characters will be wearing masks. This allows for picture-taking and conversation to continue, without any of the contact.

Universal Character actors will not share the same costumes throughout the day. Each costume must be laundered before someone else can wear them. Typically there will be more than one of each costume so multiple performers can be the same character on the same day.

It seems smart of Disney to wait and see if the way Universal is showcasing characters will result in a spike in Covid-19 cases among talent and or the guests. Though the Disney parks will have enhanced health and safety measures, guests are advised to follow all posted instructions while visiting. There is an inherent risk of exposure to Covid-19 in any public place where people are present. Covid-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. According to the CDC senior citizens and guests with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable. By visiting theme parks all visitors voluntarily assume all risks of exposure to Covid-19. I assume that character performers also sign away any liability for possibly being exposed to the virus when they get in to their costumes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the pandemic is worsening globally after new cases reached a record high on Sunday, June 7, 2020. Have a great vacation!

Enough

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Protests across the country are growing even spreading to rural communities. At a peaceful protest march in Indiana protestors walked past this line of citizens holding assault rifles asserting their second amendment right to carry deadly weapons. They feared that the peaceful protestors might actually be terrorists. They therefore planned to defended their town with assault rifles. When the protestors walked past the single police car parked near the counter protestors, they thanked the officers.

President Donald Trump encouraged the counter protestors since his “Law and Order” rose garden speech stressed the importance of the second amendment, saying, “I am mobilizing all available federal resources — civilian and military — to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson, and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights.” This acted as an invitation for vigilantes. One Guy in this line up actually had on a tin sheriffs star. I didn’t notice it until I sketched him.

A group of Invaders Motorcycle Club members rode to Freedom Park in Lowell Indiana and listened to organizers speak at the start of the Black Lives Matter March. There was a lot of fear on social media that the protest would bring destruction to the quiet town of Lowell.

Since nationwide protests began, President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr have, without evidence, blamed the antifa movement, a loose network of groups made up of radicals who rely on direct action, and sometimes violence, to fight the far right and fascism — for the looting and property damage seen during some of the otherwise peaceful rallies. Social media rumors claimed bus loads of antifa members were heading to rural towns to cause damage. The rumors were unfounded.

The Lowell Black lives Matter March ended at Liberty Park. When demonstrators came to the picnic shelter they found a group of armed men inside. They were invited in, “Come in, we can share this space. It’s OK. It’s safe. Don’t be afraid.” Members from both groups spoke about their hopes for the future and the trials they have endured. By the end, the demonstrators invited the Invaders to join them on their march and thanked them for coming out. The day was about peace and unity. People took the time to listen and to understand. If only all communities could come together and share their common experiences.”  An armed man who was worried about antifa coming to murder white people, in Lowell posted an update to his Facebook page acknowledging the risks had been overblown. There was peace in Lowell that night.

Blackhawk

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As a show of force, Donald Trump positioned at least 60 National Guard troops clad in riot gear on the steps of the Lincoln memorial. Many wore masks and protective eye covering but some followed the presidents lead and ignored the Covid-19 virus threat. The scene came a day after President Trump threatened to send in soldiers to patrol the streets of D.C. and other US cities. They faced off a crowd of perhaps a hundred protestors gathered at the reflection pool, standing in the same spot where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic ‘I have a dream’ speech half a century ago. The monument is a symbol of emancipation and justice but on this day it was a symbol of strong arm militarization against the American public. This is also the spot where Forest Gump was reunited with Jenny. In this fictitious movie Forest and Jenny crossed a divide, fining hope and love in the face of civil unrest.

16 statues and memorial were defaced during the Sunday May 31, 2020 protests. The graffiti on this public art was removed by Tuesday June 2, 2020. The Shaw Memorial, dedicated 123 years ago on May 31st, the same day it was defaced. The memorial celebrates the first African American volunteer infantry unit, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, that fought after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. At the Lincoln Memorial vandals wrote “Yall not tired yet?” in black spray paint. There was also some spatter at the base of Lincoln’s legs. It is strange that vandals would attack a monument to someone who fought for their freedom. Because of the actions of the vandals, peaceful protestors would suffer.

A US Park Police spokesperson said Friday in an interview it was a “mistake” to insist in a statement on Tuesday June 2, 2020, that it didn’t use tear gas in Lafayette Square, near the White House, to disperse a crowd ahead of President Trump’s photo op, at Saint Luke’s Church, explicitly noting that pepper balls shot by officials irritate the eyes and cause tears. The White House insisted on semantics, asking the press to retract their earlier reports. The reports were accurate. “Tear gas” is a broad term, often defined as a synthetic chemical irritant. Pepper spray is a naturally derived chemical irritant that causes many effects similar to that of common types of tear gas, including temporary blindness and a burning sensation in the nose. Regardless of the gas used by the various agencies, it was an attack on peaceful demonstrators as seen in video shot during the attack.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper joined Donald Trump on the walk across the street to St Luke’s Church after the attack that cleared the street. He claimed ignorance over the church stunt, saying, “I didn’t know where I was going.” He claimed that he was going along to inspect damage to the vandalized bathroom across from the church. He didn’t have much time to inspect the urinals since Trump marched across the street where he was handed a bible for a photo op. I couldn’t get the thought of him going to inspect the urinals. Up until the 60s bathrooms and water fountains were segregated, with signs for Blacks and Whites. It is as if Trump wants to use the military to bring us back to those days. Regardless it isn’t reassuring that the defense secretary had no idea where he was going. He was just along for Trumps wild ride.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  said Thursday June 4, 2020 that it was “stunning” and “scary” to see uniformed troops standing on the steps of Lincoln Memorial. “They crossed a threshold,” She said at a news conference in the Capitol. “While I have great respect for men and women in uniform, I don’t think it was appropriate to have them on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial,”

When Esper realized the Church stunt made him look like a fool, he broke with the president and said he didn’t think the troops should be used to police American citizens. Later that day he was called in to the White House and he reversed his decision deciding to leave troops in DC. 200 soldiers with the 82nd Airborne remained in DC. Finally two days later Esper ordered the active duty troops who were moved to the Washington DC area back to their home base of Fort Drum in New York.

On Tuesday June 2, 2020 Trump ordered military helicopters to fly low over protestors in DC. The National Guard is investigating this unusual show of force. The War Zone reported, that one UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter struck a tree and caused a branch to fall, narrowly missing people below. Another FBI-operated Blackhawk flew low over the capital carrying members of the bureau’s elite hostage rescue team, dressed in camouflaged clothing and wearing night vision goggles. Still another helicopter, a U.S. Army or Washington D.C. UH-72 Lakota, flew so low over protesters that the down wash from the main rotors kicked up dirt and debris. The overflight was done deliberately to intimidate or disperse protesters on the ground.

Former General James Mattis strongly denounced the actions of Donald Trump who had turned the military against American citizens. While Esper caved to his ideals as Trump used the Military as his personal play thing, Mattis felt he had to stand against his former commander in chief.

Friday June 5, 2020 saw another record number of new cases of Covid-19 since the sate re-opened with 1,495 cases reported. That is over 4,000 new cases in three days.

Vicious Dogs

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President Donald Trump tweeted that had protestors breached the fence outside the white house, they would “have been greeted with the most vicious dogs and most ominous weapons.” He was moved to a bunker below the white house for about an hour as fires flared up all around the white house in Washington DC. This was in reference the Birmingham Alabama civil rights injustices back in 1963 where police used high-pressure water hoses and police attack dogs on the children and adult bystanders.

Twitter issued a warning label for a tweet from Trump about the protests, stating that he had violated its rules against glorifying violence because of the historical context of his last line: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” This quote was was first used by a Miami chief of police back in 1970 who said, “There is only one way to handle looters and arsonists during a riot and that is to shoot them on sight. I’ve let the word filter down: When the looting starts the shooting starts.”

Just prior to Trump giving a speech in the Rose Garden, police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bombs on peacefully assembled protestors in front of the White House in Lafayette Park. This action came a full 25 minutes before the 7 PM curfew and with out provocation.  He said, “I am your President of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters.” Stun grenades could be heard in the distance as he spoke. Attorney General William Barr had ordered police to clear the crowd of protesters that had gathered near the White House, according to a Justice Department official, minutes ahead of President Donald Trump’s televised address from the Rose Garden.

After his speech Trump walked across the street surrounded by sycophants and military personnel. As William Barr walked behind the president. This march was so he could stand in front of Saint John’s Episcopal Church for a photo op holding a bible. It was a strange and very disorganized, hankering to the actions of third world dictators. The church was closed and Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde had had to disavow the presidents actions. She was shocked and outraged.

Trump threatened to “deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.” In a conference call to multiple state governors. “You have to dominate,” Mr. Trump told the governors, warning them that “you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks” if the National Guard were not heavily deployed in protest areas.

Trump told the Army on Monday to deploy active-duty military police to Washington, a military official said. One military official likened the deployment to Mr. Trump requesting his own “palace guard” to protect him from protesters. The Defense Department also requested 600 to 800 additional National Guard troops from Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Utah to  join the 1,200 D.C. National Guard troops, a Pentagon official said Monday night. Governors have turned down Trumps offer of military assistance.

The country has needed compassion and leadership during this time, instead, the country is faces with the president’s bitterness, combativeness and self-interest. Trump’s walk to the nearby church, which he does not typically visit, technically violated the District of Columbia’s Monday curfew. The protests against police violence come against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused more than 108,048 deaths in the U.S., with black Americans disproportionately affected.

One line of the speech writer I rather liked, “America needs creation not destruction, cooperation not contempt, security not anarchy, healing not hatred, justice not chaos.” However all too often Trump is the one seeding hatred and division. American Democracy is in deep trouble.

Colosseum

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I  keep trying to find a way to illustrate the toll that Covid-19 has taken here in America. As of this writing, June 1, 2020, according to World O Meter, 106,878 people have died in the United States from the virus. I decided to find out which football stadium has the highest seating capacity and found that Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, can seat 107,420 people. By the time this painting posts, that seating capacity may have been surpassed, or soon will be surpassed, by the number of people who have died from Covid-19. I then started thinking about how the protests across the country are playing out in real time on social media platforms. It is as if Twitter and Facebook have become the modern day equivalents of the Roman Colosseum. What if the dead are watching the violence unfold from their stadium seating?

Many are watching events unfold from the safety of their home isolation while others are being shot at by police with rubber bullets and tear gas. President Trump was hidden away in a White House basement bunker as protests in Washington D.C. resulted in fires burning all around the White House. The nation wide protests will certainly result in a spike in Covid-19 infections.

Police are also shooting at, macing, and arresting reporters who the president dubs “the enemy of the people.” A young African American couple are tazered and dragged out of their car on live TV. A family watched as police marched past their home and then police shouted “Light Um Up” and they shot rubber bullets at the family when they did not get back inside fast enough. It is a dystopian nightmare. Police violence has erupted nationwide. At least two have been killed in the Nation wide protests. a 21 year old journalist had his eye ruptured by a tear gas canister in Indiana

Meanwhile 106,878 ghosts watch from their stadium seating as police cars burn. Close up and violent details can be seen on the jumbo tron and in every social media post. Racism has existed for hundreds of years but today the injustice is captured by cell phones which everyone has in hand.

An independent autopsy found that George Floyd‘s death was a homicide. He died of “asphyxiation from sustained pressure. ” That that is plain to see if you watch the cell phone footage of officer Derek Chauvin as he keeled on Floyd’s neck as Floyd begged him saying, “I can’t breath.” The officer had his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds in total and two minutes and 53 seconds after Floyd was unresponsive. Dr. Michael Baden said, “Police have this false impression that if you can talk, you can breathe. That’s not true,” Baden said. George died because he needed a breath. He needed a breath of air.

Space X Scrubbed

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NASA initiated temperature checks and physical distancing at mission control leading up to the planned launch of the space X rocket, which is the first manned space flight in nine years from American soil. A successful launch requires the contributions from dozens of technicians at mission control.  Workers were separated into different rooms as much as possible and plexiglass was installed between work stations.

Extra precautions were taken with the Crew Dragon’s astronauts. Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. They have been in quarantine since May 13, 2020 to be sure that they do not transport any pathogen or virus into space. As an extra step, both Behnken and Hurley will be tested for Covid-19 twice before they leave for the International Space Station. Anyone interacting with the astronauts before the launch will wear masks and gloves and have their temperature taken. I saw a picture of the astronauts saying good buy to their wives and family. They held their arms up as if in a hug but with a good 10 feet of separation.

Besides protecting the ground crew and astronauts, NASA has a very short list for VIP visitors during the launch. Some members of Congress and of the National Space Council will be in attendance. But they can not bring any staff. Nine years ago over a million people gathered to see the launch but that can not happen during a pandemic. Ivanka Trump wore a face mask to the NASA launch on Thursday a day after her father, Donald Trump, mocked the practice as being “politically correct”.

While NASA took every precaution to keep people safe and encouraged people to stay home to watch the launch on TV, the Brevard County Sheriff, Wayne Ivey had his own ideas. “If NASA is telling people to not come here and watch the launch, that’s on them. I’m telling people what I believe as an American. And so NASA has got their guidelines, and I got mine.” he said.

The CDC has said that traveling bu car, plane or bus increases a persons chance of contracting the virus and spreading it. Crowds gathered on the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville to watch the launch closing it down as they stood shoulder  to shoulder. The photo by Jim Shortt showed very few people wearing face masks.

A recent study from UC Berkeley’s International Computer Science Institute and at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology says that if 80% of Americans wore  masks, then Covid-19 infections wold plummet. The scientists created a computer forecast model called the masksim simulator that allows you to see how an infection spreads under different scenarios. It  is like watching a video game play out as the virus spreads with no one wearing a mask as opposed to 80 % of people wearing a mask. Even home made masks can make a huge difference in controlling the spread of the virus.  Wake up people, wear a mask. Wearing a mask is cool.

For those that want to watch on TV or from home, the launch was rescheduled for today, Saturday May 30, 2020 at 3pm.

Twitter Distraction

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Twitter has had to add fact checking links to President Donald Trump‘s tweets about voting by mail. As the country has to come to terms with the loss of now over 100,000 people, the president is focused on just one thing, the upcoming election. He falsely claimed that voting by mail would be “substantially fraudulent.” He himself votes by mail but wants …. …. to stop others from doing the same during a global pandemic. Clicking on the link on Trumps post takes users to a Twitter “Moments” page titled, “Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud.”

Trump has claimed he is a war time president and now that Twitter is fact checking him he has something to fight about. He is threatening to regulate or even shut down social media companies he feels are out to get him. The Associated Press pointed out that the president, does not have the power to “unilaterally regulate or close …. …. companies, which would require action by Congress or the Federal Communications Commission.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Tweeted, “There is someone ultimately accountable for our actions as a company, and that’s me. Please leave our employees out of this.” He added that Twitter will “continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally. And we will admit to and own any mistakes we make.” …. ….”This does not make us an “arbiter of truth.” Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves. More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the why behind our actions,” Dorsey wrote.

The White House is expected to issue an executive order that will curtail some of the legal protections for social media companies. As of this writing it is still being drafted. It is hard to imagine that the government can regulate a private publishing platform.

This is another Trump distraction. He will have another sheet of paper to wave around. It is more grandstanding instead of substance. Fact checking the lies of this president is a nightmarish situation to step into. The media has to daily fact check the presidents tweets but they have been dubbed “the enemy of the people.” Now Trump has a new…. …. enemy in his favorite social media platform.  As of April 14, 2020 the president has made 18,000 false or misleading claims according to the Washington Post.  I would much prefer that President focused his attention on listening to health experts and scientists during this health crisis, but that might be too much to ask.

While Trump is claiming Twitter is infringing on his freedom of speech, his campaign  organization tried to remove a political cartoon from an online site called Redbubble. The cartoon showed Trump serving his followers bleach from a tub using a ladle.  They claimed trademark infringement since the artist depicted the followers in MAGA hats. The cartoon was re-posted after the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and other free speech organizations got involved. This makes it seem like the Trump campaign has a system in place to trawl online for materiel they find objectionable. Cartoonist Michael de Adder tweeted that the Counterpoint political cartoonist Twitter account was suspended. The account went live again the same day, but their 10,000 or so followers all disappeared.

“The freedom of the Press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic Governments.” – Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776

Republican National Convention

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Donald Trump has one thing on his mind and that is getting re-elected. He hasn’t been holding his political rallies, which stoke his ego, for months. As the death toll from Covid-19 neared 100,000 he threatened the governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, ahead of the 2020 Republican National Convention, that he might not hold the Republican National Convention in his state because the governor was “unable to guarantee” that the arena can be filled to capacity. The convention is expected to be held August 24 to 27, 2020.

Trump Tweeted, “Unfortunately, Democrat Governor, @RoyCooperNC is still in Shutdown mood and unable to guarantee that by August we will be allowed full attendance in the Arena. In other words, we would be spending millions of dollars building the Arena to a very high standard without even knowing if the Democrat Governor would allow the Republican Party to fully occupy the space.” The President’s calls for a “guarantee” overlooks the uncertainty surrounding the summertime levels of Covid-19 and the challenges of hosting a political convention in the middle of an ongoing public health crisis.

It is hard to imagine a more convenient super spreading event for the virus that a crowded convention. This politicization of the rush to re-open reminded me that the virus doesn’t care about red or blue. It just wanted to find people to infect. Over Memorial Day weekend pictures showed crowds of people practicing no social distancing as they crowded to beaches pools and parties. A huge stadium of adoring fans is precisely the thing that Trump must miss the most since the start of the pandemic. A nice round of golf is fine but a stadium of cheering fans is Trump’s wet  dream.

Immediately Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he supports moving the Republican National Convention to Florida. He said, The political convention would be great for Florida’s coronavirus-damaged economy as President Donald Trump has suggested moving the planned Republican convention out of North Carolina. Since he is lock step with Trump in the rush to re-open it makes see that he would not mind a huge Convention in the midst of a pandemic. DeSantis said numerous areas in Florida, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville, could quickly organize a multi-day showcase. But he wouldn’t promote one area over another. I can not imagine a scenario in which a fully attended Republican National Convention could be done safely. There is no GOP safety plan in place. In response to Trumps threats, North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen requested a written COVID-19 safety plan from the CEO of the Republican National Convention Monday. Before the pandemic, the RNC was expected to draw 50,000 or about half the number of people who have died from the virus.