Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said that she would support President Donald Trump traveling to New Mexico—if he follows CDC protocol and brings needed equipment to the state.
Lujan Grisham said this during a press conference on Thursday when asked about Trump’s proposed trip to Arizona next week.
“I will welcome President Trump with open arms to New Mexico if he is masked, is wearing gloves for anything that we are going to attend, there are no mass gatherings or rallies and he is bringing Air Force One with the supplies that we need in the state of New Mexico,” Lujan Grisham said.
Trump has said he would not wear a mask, though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all people in the United States wear masks while in public. The state of New Mexico also recommends that all people in the state wear masks while in public, and Lujan Grisham, her cabinet members and staff wear masks during press conferences, though take them off to speak so their voices are not muffled.
Vice President Mike Pence faced criticism after he didn’t wear a face mask while visiting the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Pence then wore a mask while touring a General Motors plant in Indiana that is making ventilators.
Trump is scheduled to visit a Honeywell Aerospace plant that is manufacturing N-95 masks in Arizona, the White House said, while the president said he will hold “massive rallies…in the not-too-distant future.”
Lujan Grisham also said that she would not support any mass gatherings in New Mexico, noting that there are no exceptions for the state’s ban on mass gatherings for political candidates or parties.
The state’s public health emergency order, which the governor extended to May 15, bans all gatherings of more than five people.
She also warned anyone who wished to travel to Arizona for a potential political event that it would create risk for spreading COVID-19.
“Anyone in the federal government or the White House that is working to help New Mexico do the best job and working to bring supplies is welcome here,” she said. “And, in fact, many members of the federal government are already in New Mexico. And we’re grateful. And they’re using the right protocols.”
