Early October 2, President Trump announced on Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, coming just hours that senior advisor Hope Hicks tested positive. This throws a major uncertainty into the 2020 presidential campaign race, throwing a major wrench into the president’s reelection campaign. The positive test comes after months of downplaying and minimizing the threat and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic by the current administration.
In addition to the President and First Lady, at the time of writing, a number of people have also tested positive. These people include top Trump advisor Hope Hicks; a top presidential assistant, Nicholas Luna; GOP Senators Mike Lee, Thom Tillis, and Ron Johnson of Utah, North Carolina, and Wisconsin; RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel; president of the University of Notre Dame, John Jenkins; Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager; Kellyanne Conway, a former top administration official; Chris Christie, a former N.J. governor who helped Trump prepare for the presidential debate; among many others.
The Vice President and the Second Lady, Joe and Jill Biden, Kamala Harris and her husband, and all of Donald Trump’s children have tested negative.
The fact that three GOP Senators tested positive also throws a huge wrench into the Republicans’ mad rush to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, as Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski are expected “no” votes. With three GOP Senators absent, it won’t be enough to give Mitch McConnell the majority vote he desperately needs. In addition, a Democrat may ask for a roll call, which may mean that there isn’t a quorum for the Senate to operate.
Trump has now been transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he remains at the presidential suite. Given that not every COVID patient ends up at the hospital, the world-class medical facilities at the White House, and the President being 74 and obese (a high-risk group), it is entirely possible that his condition is worse than publicly announced.
The President released the following video from the hospital showing him at a desk working to try and ward off fears about his health, but the video has been edited. For instance, at 1:05, the video looks to have edited out a cough. And the binder looks to be all empty except the dividers that it comes with. The paper looks blank.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020
The fact that the President of the United States caught COVID-19 is alarming, to say the least. Already, the President is in the safest bubble there can be. The fact that he tested positive proves to many people, especially those who don’t believe the pandemic to be a great threat, that yes, COVID-19 is still a very real threat to our society.
With the president having consistently playing down the threat of the pandemic, the news may not come as a surprise to some people. But to some swing voters, this major news may be the breaking point that causes them to vote Democratic—already 205,000 Americans have died, and now the President himself is in grave danger of adding to the figure, considering his demographic group.
In addition, there are only 28 days left till the election on November 3. With Trump needing to take at least 14 days off the campaign trail before being able to resume in-person events, that may put a significant hamper in his reelection bid. He is already down 8.0 points in the FiveThirtyEight national polling average, with Joe Biden having a majority of the vote share. He would have to cancel his rallies in key swing states, which may negatively affect his performance in those states.
Also, the American public may also lose confidence in voting for a ticket that may possibly not be able to serve. Many people may not few comfortable in voting for a ticket that may be entirely different come inauguration day. This voter fear may also negatively impact Trump’s performance.
There is virtually no way that this can be spun in a positive light for the Trump campaign. This may be the “October surprise” that seems to come every election that sways the election in one candidate’s favor. A huge curveball has been thrown into this year’s election.
In addition, since Trump is taking dexamethasone, a relatively powerful steroid, in addition to some non-FDA approved trail drug and medicines. This may indicate the President is in worse condition than publicly announced.
Newshacker Blog wishes the President and First Lady a speedy recovery.
Make sure to stay tuned as new predictions and state election analyses are coming before the election, as there will be posts every weekday at least through to the election.
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