MAGA Senate Candidate Inflates Record of Covid Defiance in Bid for Anti-Establishment Credentials

Utah GOP Senate candidate Trent Staggs is attempting to rebrand his Covid record in order to win a crowded Republican primary.

Staggs is branding himself as the MAGA candidate in the race — and that means portraying his Covid record as mayor of Riverton, Utah, as one of relentless defiance in the face of state and county mitigation measures. On his campaign website, Staggs claims he opposed mask mandates and took on government officials seeking to close cities and limit gatherings.

“Staggs ALWAYS kept his city open, unlike the overwhelming majority of cities in the state. His city hall always remained open and he held his council meetings in person, not just online,” reads the “proven fighter” page of Staggs’s website.

“In 2020, when they decided to enforce business closures, social distancing, and masking, I directed our police not to enforce; if they bring it back, 100 percent I will once again hold the line,” Staggs told Breitbart News last summer. More recently, Staggs said he decided not to get the Covid vaccine and criticized vaccine mandates.

However, Riverton appears to have complied with the Salt Lake County Health Department’s order to shut down playgrounds, pavilions, and skate parks at the beginning of the pandemic.

“Parents: Please ensure your children abide by these closures for their own safety and the safety of your family and community,” the city of Riverton’s official Twitter account urged. The city promoted the March 2020 directive of then–Utah governor Gary Herbert (R) to stay home and limit travel as much as possible for safety purposes. Under Staggs’s leadership, Riverton limited the ability of residents to attend city-council meetings in April 2020 to comply with county Covid restrictions.

As early as March 2020, Staggs encouraged businesses to shut down and Riverton strongly pushed residents to comply with social-distancing guidance.

“I have faith that the people of Riverton and the entrepreneurs who have located in Riverton will make appropriate precautionary measures including ceasing operations if it is the correct decision for them,” Staggs declared.

Staggs did, however, instruct police officers not to enforce Salt Lake County’s order limiting public gatherings.

“While Brad Wilson was promoting a “color coded health guidance system” that called for thousands of businesses to be closed indefinitely, school closures and “strict social distancing guidelines” Trent Staggs was working to protect Utahns freedoms and fighting back against pro-lockdown politicians,” Staggs campaign spokesman Jared Whitley told National Review.

“Trent Staggs kept Riverton fully open for business and personally instructed police not to enforce mask mandates or social distancing laws issued by county and state officials, despite establishment politicians like Brad Wilson allowing mask mandates, school closures and ‘stay home’ orders. Despite Brad Wilson opting to hold virtual sessions, Trent Staggs city council met in-person.”

Staggs’s campaign is referring to former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, one of his GOP primary rivals, who suggested in April 2020 a system of colors to reflect Covid-risk levels caused by the state’s plan to re-open the economy. Wilson appears to have convened a special virtual legislative session in April 2020 and reluctantly backed the state’s plan in April 2021 to defer mask mandates to local jurisdictions.

With Staggs as mayor, the city of Riverton encouraged residents to wear masks, both indoors and out, in compliance with county mandates.

“Face masks will be compulsory at all indoor and outdoor public gatherings and inside all retail stores and other businesses that are open to the public in Salt Lake County, including at bars and restaurants until diners have been seated,” Riverton informed residents in June 2020. The next month, Riverton launched a program to provide free masks to businesses so they could stay open and serve customers who enter the premises without wearing a mask.

In fall 2020, Staggs advocated for “universal and repeat testing” and said it had been his position since March, upon the outset of the pandemic.

Later on, Staggs noted that Riverton used federal funding to support its masking and testing operations for businesses and residents.

“Riverton City received millions of dollars in CARES Act monies last year that was used to pay for expenses related to protecting our first responders and employees, testing, and distribution of masks for businesses and residents,” Staggs said in an August 2021 press release.

He also informed residents of the availability of vaccines for children 12 and under, and urged residents to get vaccinated for the sake of their health.

“Currently, vaccinations are available at no cost to anyone over age 12, the federal government provided billions of dollars this spring to our state and local governments in additional assistance, our Governor has made KN95 masks available to all students,” Staggs stated.

“As Riverton’s mayor, I urge all residents to be well-informed about the risks and circumstances of this virus and to take all necessary actions for your own health and that of your children – to include vaccinations and masking where appropriate.”

Staggs’s past support for masking could be a problem for him with GOP primary voters, which might explain why he appears to have deleted a tweet in which he was pictured wearing a mask while celebrating a local business owner.

Earlier this month, at the Southern Utah Republican Forum, Staggs cast himself as the anti-establishment candidate seeking to shake up Washington.

“We’ve elected too many people to go back to D.C. who want to become part of the establishment. And that’s why from day one I’ve said, ‘Look, I’m gonna fight the establishment,’” Staggs said.

“That’s why I took on Mitt Romney, that’s why I’ve always stood up, said no to covid lockdowns, mandates, you name it, as a mayor. In my community we’ve exhibited that fight all the time, and that’s why I’ve signaled the endorsements I have,” Staggs added.

Years before he launched a primary campaign against Romney, Staggs praised Romney’s “dedicated service” to the people of Utah and expressed gratitude for Romney’s endorsement. Romney announced last fall he will not be running for reelection, opening the floodgates for Republican candidates seeking to replace him.

MAGA politicians such as Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Arizona senate candidate Kari Lake (R) have endorsed Staggs’s campaign. Former Trump-administration officials Richard Grenell and Kash Patel have also thrown their support behind Staggs.

Before Staggs turned himself into a MAGA candidate, he joined a group of Utah officials urging Governor Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.) to run for president against former president Donald Trump.

Staggs is also running as a fighter against “woke” ideology, despite his past support for “anti-bias” training sessions instituted by the Riverton police following the death of George Floyd.

Staggs placed fourth with 3 percent of the vote in a Utah GOP primary poll taken in January. Representative John Curtis and Brent Orrin Hatch, the son of longtime Utah GOP Senator Orrin Hatch placed first and second with 18 percent and 14 percent respectively. Wilson was in third place with 8 percent of the vote.