The White House held more than two dozen holiday parties in the first weeks of December, at the insistence of the president and first lady, a final hurrah of sorts for the Trump presidency. The idea of hosting large indoor gatherings was, of course, irresponsible, but Republicans from far and wide lined up to pay maskless homage to their leader. Meanwhile, the band played on as this Titanicof a White House sank beneath their feet. One of those guests was Massachusetts Republican Tom Mountain, who says that three days after attending a White House Hanukkah event, he tested positive for the virus and was hospitalized.

Mountain, the vice chairman of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee, traveled to D.C. for the Dec. 9 event over the objections of his wife and family. Mountain said he roamed the East Wing maskless that day along with 100 other attendees doing the same. “People would just leisurely and gingerly take off their mask to mingle, to schmooze. I don’t even think some people wore masks the entire time,” Mountain told local NBC affiliate WJAR. “And again, I was guilty as anyone else. I just wasn’t wearing a mask.” Mountain told the Boston Globe that while attendees were required to wear masks in line to get into the event, there were no temperature checks—a good indicator if an individual is battling illness—and essentially no other safety protocols.

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Shortly after returning home to Massachusetts, Mountain began experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus. He tested positive for COVID-19, which he believes he contracted at the Trump party. “Well, let’s put it this way: When I went down to Washington, D.C., for the White House Hanukkah event, I was perfectly fine,” he said. “And three days later after that event, I was in the hospital at Brigham and Women’s ready to be put on a lifesaving ventilator.” Mountain was then hospitalized twice in the coming weeks and, he says, each time was close to being put on a ventilator.

Mountain is now on the mend at his home in Newton, Massachusetts, but says the experience has changed his thinking on the virus. “I was one of the naysayers,” he said. “I am no longer a naysayer.” Four of Mountain’s immediate family have also tested positive for the virus. “My family tried to dissuade me,” he said. “I didn’t listen.”

• White House
• Coronavirus