Testing positive for coronvirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 yesterday, 74-year-old President Donald Trump and his 50-year-old wife Melania quarantined at the White House for a minimum of 14 days, throwing the 2020 presidential race into chaos. Trump most likely got the virus from his 31-year-old Communication Director Hope Hicks, who tested positive for the virus, exhibiting symptoms while traveling with Trump & Co. on Air Force 1 and Marine One helicopter. Contracting the virus, Trump gives 77-year-old rival former Vice President Joe Biden more ammunition to criticize the president’s response to the Covid-19 crisis. Trump showed reluctance to use face-covering and to heed medical recommendations to socially distance, continuing to host campaign rallies at a furious pace. Contracting the virus, pulls the rug out from underneath Trump 31 days before the election.
Tweeting he and Melania tested positive for the virus at 1 AM, Oct. 2, no one knows for sure how long the virus incubated in the president. Furious contact tracing has been going on to determine where and when the president contracted the virus, tracing it to a campaign event in Deluth, Minnesota. Trump cancelled a rally scheduled for La Crosse, Wis. on Tuesday, primarily due to lease issues at the airport. But wherever Trump got the virus, it upends his appearance of invincibility, often crisscrossing the country at a furious pace, while Biden remained confined to his compound in Wilmington, Del. Contracting the virus shows for all to see the extreme contagiousness of the virus, but also the appearance that Trump didn’t take his own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] seriously, wearing a mask and keeping contacts to a minimum.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), no fan of Trump’s, mentioned Trump’s lax approach to the virus, essentially saying, “I told you so.” Biden hasn’t yet said that, wishing Trump and Melania a speedy recovery. But the overall narrative for Trump isn’t a good one a month before the Nov. 3 election. Unlike Biden that’s up in the polls, Trump’s running a come-from-behind race, much like he did with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton four years ago. While things are different today than back then, Biden doesn’t have the same negatives as Hillary with her private server and deleted emails, giving Trump an inroad to victory. With margins tight between he and Biden, Trump contracted the virus might have done him for reelection. Not so much because hel’ll lose his base but because it’s not going to play well with undecided voters trying to make up their minds.
Contracting Covid-19 sends the exact wrong message for Trump who’s tried to convince the nation to get back to business as usual. Watching the virus infect the president, his wife and key members of his inner circle, confirms the message that this crisis is far from over, regardless on any progress on reduced cases, deaths and a possible vaccine. Trump’s now forced to take whatever therapeutics are available to him, including the recently approved anti-viral drug Remdesivir or more controversial protocols like the anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, zinc or other protocols tried to reduce severity of symptoms. While Trump quarantines, there’s little way to confirm the president’s actual condition. Reports that he has mild symptoms say nothing other than some first hand reports suggesting the president was exhausted after his Sept. 30 Deluth, Minn. Rally.
Media were quick to point out that 61-year-old White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was not wearing a mask when he briefed the press today about Trump’s condition. “I’ve obviously been tested. We’re hopefully more than 6 feet away,” Meadows said. “And if there’s any concern there, form a guidance standpoint, we have protocols in place,” Meadows said, admitting he’s been in contact with the president, first lady and Hope hicks, who also tested positive. Meadows confirmed that Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Ut.) also tested positive for the virus. Contracting the virus has undermined Trump’s narrative that things were getting better, whether they’re getting better or not. Trump’s reluctance to wear a mask, actually making a joke out of Biden’s mask use at Tuesday night’s presidential debate, makes Trump look foolish.
Contracting Covid-19 may have done in Trump’s 2020 bid for a second term. If Trump can’t push the pedal-to-the-medal in the last month of the campaign, it gives Biden a big advantage heading into the final stretch. However painful watching Tuesday night’s debate, it’s likely that no further debates will take place. No one knows for sure Trump’s actual medical condition. One thing’s for sure, the White House has gone into stealth mode, keeping any possible staff with knowledge of Trump condition away from anyone that could leak to the press. All estimates for a man of Trump’s age and weight would suggest his recovery could take time, not happen over night. In the best-case scenario, Trump won’t be campaigning for at least two weeks, maybe longer. Biden couldn’t imagine that Covid-19 of all things was the one event that helped him become the next U.S. president.
