Amy Coney Barrett's White House Rose Garden Nomination Ceremony

Overview

Amy Coney Barrett Nomination Ceremony took place in the Rose Garden at the White House on September 26th, 2020. President Donald Trump nominated Barrett as the successor to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who died the week prior. In the days following the event, President Trump announced that doctors diagnosed him with the COVID-19. The announcement spurred a series of similar positive coronavirus tests for various attendees, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Mike Lee and former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway. The number of positive diagnoses led some to speculate whether the event was a "superspreader" event, inspiring the hashtag #rosegardenmassacre, which trended on Twitter the weekend after the event.

Background

On September 26th, 2020, President Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett as the next Supreme Court Justice in the Rose Garden of the White House. Many Republican lawmakers and officials attended the event, where many were photographed without masks flouting social distancing guidelines.

Developments

Coronavirus Spread

On the day of the event, writer Timothy Burke tweeted videos of the attendees hugging and flouting social distancing. He wrote, "The idea of hugging anyone who is not my wife right now is unthinkable. These people, either by virtue of taxpayer-funded daily testing or sheer ignorance, are afforded things those of us with families or loved ones who would die if infected have been denied for months." The tweet received more than 10 million, 5,000 likes and 1,700 retweets.

Many of the people who attended the event later tested positive for the coronavirus.^[1][2] This included:

*President Trump
*First Lady Melania Trump
*Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah
*Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina
*Former White House advisor Kellyanne Conway
*Notre Dame University President John Jenkins
*New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
*White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany

As a result of the number of positive tests from Republican legislators, including two on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for the delay of hearing of Amy Coney Barrett's nomination. He wrote in a tweet^[3] on October 2nd, 2020, "We now have two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who have tested positive for COVID, and there may be more. I wish my colleagues well. It is irresponsible and dangerous to move forward with a hearing, and there is absolutely no good reason to do so." The post received more than 190,000 likes and 34,000 retweets in less than four days (shown below).

That day, Twitter^[4] user @nycsouthpaw shared the video and wrote, "Video of the ACB announcement event on Saturday at the WH featuring Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who has now tested positive for Covid-19." The post received more than 30,000 likes and 20,000 retweets in less than four days (shown below).

CNN reporter Rebecca Buck tweeted^[8] a photograph of an indoor meet-and-greet with Barrett, the President and other members of the White House staff. They wrote, "From tomorrow’s NYT A1, a reminder that the Amy Coney Barrett WH event was not entirely outdoors." The tweet received more than 34,000 likes and 13,000 retweets in less than three days (shown below).

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Over the weekend, following the reports, people began referring to the ceremony as the "Rose Garden Massacre." The hashtag #RoseGardenMassacre.^[5] Representative Ilhan Omar tweeted,^[6] "The GOP Senators who tested positive have all had contact with their staff and other Senators. The Senate should quarantine, without hesitation. Democratic Senators shouldn’t be an accomplice to this dangerous reckless behavior. #RoseGardenMassacre." The tweet received more than 17,000 likes and 3,100 retweets in less than three days (shown below, left).

Twitter user @lifetothemax1 tweeted,^[7] "As Trump gets a top taxpayer-financed COVID treatment, pls remember that he paid virtually no taxes and he is suing in court to try and take away healthcare of 30 million Americans. #RoseGardenMassacre #SuperSpreader #GOPSuperSpreaders #CovidCaughtTrump #TrumpHasCovid." The tweet received more than 11,000 likes and 4,400 retweets in less than three days (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References