FACTS
In a Twitter post just before 1 am on Thursday night, President Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19. The White House confirmed the news on Friday. Earlier in the week, Trump adviser Hope Hicks tested positive after becoming ill on a flight aboard Air Force One to a rally with President Trump. Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have both tested negative. The president and first lady were flown to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and as of Saturday, there were mixed reports circulating as to their condition. A statement by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said “the next 48 hours will be critical,” while Trump’s physician announced he was “extremely happy” with how he was progressing, and Trump himself said “I feel much better now” in a Twitter post Saturday evening. It was reported that Trump’s doctor was treating him with dexamethasone after the president experienced low oxygen levels.
“All previously announced campaign events involving the president’s participation are in the process of being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed. In addition, previously announced events involving members of the First Family are also being temporarily postponed…Any further information about the president will come from the White House.”
Bill Stepien, Trump 2020 Campaign Manager
RIGHT
The Right doesn’t seem too worried and is hopeful and optimistic that he will recover. Many conservatives have called out the Left regarding death wishes against the president and first lady. Republican strategist Ryan Fournier called on Twitter to suspend the account of a former Clinton administration spokesperson after she tweeted, regarding Trump, “I hope he dies” (the post has since been deleted). “This is a violation of Twitter’s policy,” he wrote. Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA, tweeted, “Compare how conservatives reacted to & mourned the death of RBG to how Democrats are celebrating Trump contracting COVID. Vote accordingly this November.”
This is how one shows grace despite political differences ⬇️ https://t.co/HEYU7V1Ssu
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) October 2, 2020
LEFT
The Left believes it’s his own doing and criticizes the White Houses’ decision to continue with events even after Hicks was confirmed positive. Vogue writer Emma Specter noted that the president will receive top medical care by the “finest doctors” – all covered by tax-payers – while contrastingly, uninsured Americans “can expect to pay anywhere from $42,486 to $74,310 if they are hospitalized with COVID-19.”
“Trump has repeatedly downplayed the risk of the virus and behaved in ways that public health experts have said risked spreading the virus. He has refused to wear a mask in public and questioned its effectiveness. He has held crowded rallies where attendees did not wear masks. Many of his staff members did not wear them at Tuesday’s debate, even after medical personnel there asked them do so.”
David Leonhardt, The Morning newsletter writer for The New York Times
Filmmaker and political activist Michael Moore, among others, argue that the diagnosis is a lie, writing, “He knows being sick tends to gain one’s sympathy. He’s not above weaponizing this.” Despite criticism running rampant on social media, some Trump critics have been more cordial. Progressive journalist Nicholas Kristof wrote, “Best wishes to President Trump and the first lady. Whatever one thinks of his policies, I hope we can be civil, avoid snark, seek lessons and wish them both a swift recovery.”
New: Trump may have exposed hundreds of supporters and staff in the days before he was hospitalized with covid-19, but there was no systematic effort to inform those people or to avoid further spreadhttps://t.co/oRi2DAcird
— Matea Gold (@mateagold) October 4, 2020
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