On Friday October 2 Donald Trump, and 1,817 other Americans, were diagnosed with COVID-19.
The legitimate date of diagnosment remains a debate. However, the news became public when he was admitted to the Walter Reed Military hospital on the evening of October 2.
Trump was discharged from the hospital soon after thatSunday. “Don’t be afraid of COVID” said President Donald Trump. On his way out, Trump held a drive-by photo op outside of Walter Reed Hospital. This was just days after his diagnosis.
According to an internal government memo, since Trump’s diagnosis, 34 people in the White House have also tested positive for COVID-19. Before the virus invaded the White House, masks weren’t required, and social distancing was nonexistent. However, anyone who entered the White House had to have a temperature check.
Now administrators are trying to follow precautions to halt the spread. Alyssa Farah, White House communications director, said that they were “taking precautions” to stop the spread and to make the people in the West Wing “more comfortable”.
When it came to Trump’s disease, some people don’t believe that he’s being truthful. “But his [Dr. Sean Conley] assertion on Saturday -- later walked back -- that Trump had begun treatment for the virus 72 hours earlier set off alarms.” According to this quote from CNN, this means that the president knew of his positive test results on Thursday, and didn’t announce the news until the following day. In fact, he attended events on Thursday the 1st, possibly with his knowledge of having the disease.
Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis may not change election outcomes at all. In fact, it has made Trump supporters even more supportive. According to Time, “Many of his devotees are attracted to what they see as Trump’s strength, and believe him when he compares COVID-19 to the flu or suggests there’s little reason to be alarmed.”
Because the President has presented a healthy, strong front, his supporters believe that if a 74 year-old man can beat the virus, so can they.
With even the President of the United States contracting the deadly Coronavirus, people are eagerly waiting for a vaccine to help stop the spread.
“By January he expects there will be 30 million doses of each one of messenger RNA vaccines.” We can only hope for the best,” Moncef Slaoui Chief Adviser to the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed program said.
Works Cited:
Alter, Charlotte. “Donald Trump Fans Are Undaunted By His COVID-19 Diagnosis.” Time, Time, 4 Oct. 2020, time.com/5895978/donald-trump-supporters-covid-19/.
Collinson, Stephen. “Analysis: As Trump's Condition Makes Headlines, America's Pandemic Is Getting Worse.” CNN, Cable News Network, 5 Oct. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/10/05/politics/donald-trump-hospitalized-coronavirus-pandemic/index.html.
Margolin, Josh, and Lucien Bruggeman . “34 People Connected to White House, More than Previously Known, Infected by Coronavirus: Internal FEMA Memo.” ABC News, ABC News Network, abcnews.go.com/Politics/34-people-connected-white-house-previously-infected-coronavirus/story?id=73487381.
Niedzwiadek, Nick. “The 35 People Who Have Tested Positive in the Trump Covid Outbreak.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 8 Oct. 2020, www.politico.com/news/2020/10/02/trump-white-house-coronavirus-positive-425229.
Rascoe, Ayesha. “White House Official: Trump Received Coronavirus Briefings In January.” NPR, NPR, 2 May 2020, www.npr.org/2020/05/02/849643058/white-house-official-trump-received-coronavirus-briefings-in-january.
Raymond, Adam K. “The White House Is Rolling Back Its Coronavirus Safety Protocols.” Intelligencer, Intelligencer, 22 June 2020, nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/the-white-house-is-rolling-back-coronavirus-safety-protocols.html.
Toluse Olorunnipa, The Washington Post, and The Washington Post Josh Dawsey. “President Donald Trump Leaves Hospital after Being Treated for - and Downplaying - COVID-19.” The Texas Tribune, The Texas Tribune, 5 Oct. 2020, www.texastribune.org/2020/10/05/donald-trump-coronavirus-hospital/.