CLEVELAND — A Cleveland city councilman who is also the chairman of the council's health and human services committee says President Donald Trump's family and team were offered masks at Tuesday's debate, but refused.
Ward 6 Councilman Blaine Griffin, whose ward includes the Cleveland Clinic's main campus, was at the debate at Samsom Pavilion. He described the demenor of the president's supporters in the audience as dismissive.
Griffin told 3News' Russ Mitchell a clinic staff member walked down the aisles of the debate hall and attempted to give the coverings to a group that included members of Trump's family. According to the councilman, many of them waved the doctor off.
"A couple of people even got a little chuckle out of it," Griffin recalled seeing. "They were just being very, very disrespectful and didn't want to wear the masks."
Griffin pointed out the city of Cleveland has a mandatory mask order, but praised the Clinic for doing "everything it could" to keep everyone safe. Those sentiments were echoed by Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday as he attempted to shied the Clinic from criticism.
"It is a great institution," he said. "I think they did a very, very good job, and did what they could do."
Lt. Gov. John Husted, who attended the debate, said everyone in his sightline was wearing masks but admitted he could not see everyone. Husted was tested for the virus on Friday after news of President Trump's diagnosis was made public, and his own results came back negative.
The Cleveland Clinic issued the following statement on the matter:
"Our thoughts are with the President, First Lady and all of our guests. As health advisor to the Commission on Presidential Debates and the host site, we had requirements to maintain a safe environment that align with CDC guidelines- including social distancing, hand sanitizing, temperature checks and masking. Most importantly, everyone permitted inside the debate hall tested negative for COVID-19 prior to entry. Individuals traveling with both candidates, including the candidates themselves, had been tested and tested negative by their respective campaigns.
"Based on what we know about the virus and the safety measures we had in place, we believe there is low risk of exposure to our guests. Out of an abundance of caution we are reaching out to our guests to address any questions and concerns. We will continue to monitor the information being released by the White House."