President Donald Trump canceled several public events on Wednesday evening following a televised speech addressing the worsening coronavirus and reiterating experts’ warnings to avoid against large crowds.
Trump will no longer travel for events in Colorado and Nevada at the end of the week, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement, “out of an abundance of caution from the coronavirus outbreak.”
Tim Murtaugh, communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, cited the same reasoning for postponing a “Catholics for Trump” event next week in Milwaukee.
In addition to presidential travel, the White House has canceled a Thursday reception to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the visit of Ireland’s Taoiseach, or Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, an attendee told CNN. Both leaders had been scheduled to attend the annual Shamrock Bowl event at the White House, where Varadkar was to present the Shamrock Bowl.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the White House St. Patrick’s Day Reception” is canceled, the White House Social Office wrote in an email to guests shared with CNN.