Trump Tests Positive For Corona Virus
A week after Donald Trump told Americans not to worry about Covid-19 because “it affects virtually nobody” except the elderly and those with heart conditions, the president himself has tested positive for the virus.
It is difficult to overstate exactly how earth-shaking a development this is, just 32 days before the US elections.
The president will have to quarantine for treatment. Campaign rallies are off. The next presidential debate, in two weeks, is in question.
The recurring message from the president, that the nation is “rounding the turn” in its handling of the virus, has been undermined by his own illness.
Just two days ago, during the first debate, Trump belittled Democratic opponent Joe Biden for frequently wearing masks and not having campaign rallies that matched his own in size.
Now, the White House and the campaign will have to answer why the president took such a seemingly cavalier attitude toward protecting himself – and how many others in the White House and the higher echelons of the US government may have been exposed.
During times of national turmoil, the American public tends to rally in support of the president. It may not be enough to insulate him from the questions that follow, however.
