特朗普白宫周三试图将感恩节变成一个新的政治热点，称卫生专家和州长建议的新限制是“奥威尔式的”。
随着新冠肺炎疫情在全国范围内急剧上升，美国人正在努力决定应该聚集多少家庭成员，或者是否应该聚集，白宫新闻秘书凯莉·麦克纳尼说，让个人来处理病毒是“美国的方式”。
当专家、州长甚至高级政府官员在“福克斯和朋友”节目中被问及关于“建议和指导方针”时，麦克纳尼发表了评论，他说人们不会成群结队地去度假。
“你看到的很多指导方针都是奥威尔式的，”说麦克纳尼在10月份感染了新冠肺炎病毒，这是白宫更大规模疫情的一部分。“我们不会在这个国家失去自由。我们作为个人做出负责任的健康决策。”
全国顶尖传染病专家安东尼·福奇博士，讲述《今日美国》周三报道，美国人应该“三思而后行”，去度假和参加“看似无辜”的聚会，这些聚会很可能成为病毒传播的热点，包括老年亲属。
卫生及公众服务部部长Alex Azar在周三关于联邦政府疫苗努力的简报中，援引疾病控制和预防中心的指导，警告说情况大致相同。
阿扎尔说:“今年庆祝感恩节最安全的方式是在家和你一起生活的人一起庆祝。在室内和不是你家人的人一起虚拟庆祝是传播病毒的高风险活动。”。
Fauci和其他专家建议家庭成员不吃饭时甚至在室内戴口罩。
随着美国进入另一波毁灭性的病例浪潮，可能会在下周的传统节日聚会后激增，麦克纳尼坚持认为，美国人已经与新冠肺炎打交道“很多个月”，并且已经知道如何保护自己。
“在俄勒冈州这样的地方，如果你聚集的人数超过6人，我们可能会去你家逮捕你，你会被判30天监禁，这是奥威尔式的。这不是美国的方式，”麦克纳尼说。
俄勒冈州州长、民主党人凯特·布朗周二实施了新一轮限制措施，冻结了该州的公共生活，她说该州正处于“转折点”。布朗说，她的行政命令将社交聚会的规模限制在不超过六人，违反者可能会受到轻罪的处罚，可被传唤或逮捕。
华盛顿州和密歇根州也有民主党州长，也实施了类似的授权，但随着案件惊人地攀升，甚至连爱荷华州的凯·雷诺兹等共和党州长也下令实施新的口罩授权。
当福克斯电视台的主持人提醒她白宫说过应该由州长来决定该做什么时，麦克纳尼起初同意了，然后说这是一个“自由”的问题。
“是的，当然，每个州都有责任去做他们想做的事情，但是这对那些州来说是有后果的，”她说。“美国人民是热爱自由的人民。”
“我们可以做出好的决定，我们可以洗手、戴口罩、保持社交距离，但我们也可以在自己的个人住所、自己的家中决定是否在任何特定时间让家人在场。这是美国的方式，这是自由，”她补充道。
当选总统乔·拜登采取了相反的方法。
拜登周三在与一线医疗工作者的圆桌会议上谈到新冠肺炎如何影响他自己的假期计划时表示，他的客人名单已经被大幅削减。
“一直给我建议的医生告诉我——这给我的家庭带来了问题——感恩节就要到了。“他们说，‘乔，你家里最多10个人，最多，乔，’”拜登说。“我们会有三个人，因为你不能把已经离开的、没有被隔离的家庭混在一起。”
周一，拜登说，“我只是想确保我们能在下一个感恩节，下一个圣诞节在一起。”
As pandemic surges, Trump White House calls Thanksgiving restrictions 'Orwellian'
The Trump White House on Wednesday tried to make Thanksgiving a new political flashpoint, calling new restrictions recommended by health experts and governors "Orwellian."
As COVID-19 spikes dramatically across the country and Americans struggle to decide how many family members should gather, or whether to do so at all, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said leaving it to individuals how to deal with the virus was "the American way."
McEnany made the comments when asked on "Fox and Friends" about "suggestions and guidelines" from experts, governors and even top administration officials that people not gather in large groups for the holiday.
"A lot of the guidelines you're seeing are Orwellian,"saidMcEnany, who contracted COVID-19 in October as part of a larger outbreak at the White House. "We don't lose our freedom in this country. We make responsible health decisions as individuals."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert infectious disease expert,toldUSA Today Wednesday Americans should "think twice" about traveling for the holidays and joining for "seemingly innocent" gatherings that could very well turn out to hotspots for the virus to spread -- including to elderly relatives.
And Health and Human Services SecretaryAlex Azar, in Wednesday's briefing on the federal government's vaccine efforts, warned of much the same, citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.
"The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is at home with the people you live with virtual celebrating gathering indoors with people who aren't members of your household is a higher risk activity for spreading the virus," Azar said.
Fauci and other experts have recommended family members even wear masks indoors when not eating.
As the U.S. enters another devastating wave of cases, likely to spike after next week's traditional holiday gatherings, McEnany maintained Americans have dealt with COVID-19 for "many months" and already know how to protect themselves.
"It's Orwellian in a place like Oregon to say if you gather in numbers more than six we might come to your house and arrest you and you get 30 days of jail time. That's not the American way," McEnany said.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, implemented a new wave of restrictions Tuesday that "freeze" public life in the state which she said is at its "breaking point." Her executive order limits the size of social gatherings to no more than six people and those in violation can be subject to misdemeanors punishable by citation or arrest, Brown said.
Washington State and Michigan, also with Democratic governors, have imposed similar mandates, but as cases climb alarmingly even GOP governors such as Iowa's Kay Reynolds have ordered new mask mandates.
When the Fox hosts reminded her the White House had said it was up to the governors to decide what to do, McEnany at first agreed before saying it's a matter of "freedom."
"Yeah of course, it's up to every state to do what they wanted to do, but there are consequences for those states," she said. "The American people are a freedom-loving people."
"We can make good decisions, we can wash our hands, wear masks, socially distance, but we can also decide in our own personal domicile, our own home, whether we can have our family members present at any given time. That is the American way, that is freedom," she added.
President-elect Joe Biden has taken the opposite approach.
Speaking at a roundtable with frontline health care workers Wednesday about how COVID-19 was affecting his own holiday plans, Biden said his guest list had been slashed.
"The docs that have been advising me all along are telling me -- and it caused problems in my family -- Thanksgiving's coming up. Well, they said, 'Joe, maximum 10 people in your home, maximum, Joe,'" Biden said. "There's going to be three of us because you can't mix the families that have been away, that hadn't been quarantined."
On Monday, Biden said, "I just want to make sure we're able to be together next Thanksgiving, next Christmas."
