COVID-19 diagnoses strike White House, impede Trump campaign trail
President Donald Trump will reside in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for an indefinite amount of time as he recovers from the coronavirus. First Lady Melania Trump has also tested positive. WikiCommons
President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus early morning Oct. 2 and was transported to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland after his senior adviser Hope Hicks, who traveled with him last week, tested positive Sept. 30.
Trump has displayed “mild” COVID-19 symptoms, as of an Oct. 2 report from The New York Times. A White House statement also confirmed First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, as well as six individuals who attended Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination ceremony.
Trump will reside in the hospital for an indefinite amount of time, and his campaign has either postponed his events or moved them to a virtual setting. The diagnosis could have major implications for the 2020 election, coming just two days after the first presidential debate Sept. 29.
“We are at the mercy of knowing the information that the government is giving to us right now,” said Lori Cox Han, Chapman University presidency scholar, at a virtual town hall Oct. 2. “Given that he’s going to be under observation at Walter Reed, there are any number of ways you can read that; there are any number of conspiracy theories that are already circulating, so I would just say to take a lot of social media with a grain of salt.”
According to Chapman University viral infection specialist Jerika Lam, Trump presents three major risk factors. He is 74 years old, clinically obese with a Body Mass Index of 30 and he possesses a preexisting condition of high cholesterol. Due to the combination of those factors, his physique predisposes him to contracting the coronavirus, Lam said.
If Trump is not able to uphold his duties as president, the 25th Amendment dictates the line of succession would pass to the vice president. In this scenario, were Trump to fall ill and become medically incapacitated, Congress would vote to have Vice President Mike Pence sit in until the president could be reinstated. This has only occurred three times since the 25th Amendment’s ratification in 1967.
“(Trump) would voluntarily have to write a letter saying, ‘I can no longer be president.’ I don’t see him doing that,” said Fred Smoller, Chapman campaigns and elections professor. “It calls attention to the very thing he doesn’t want to talk about, which is his handling of the coronavirus.”
The president has previously denounced mask effectiveness and downplayed the impact of COVID-19, despite privately vocalizing its severity. During his campaign, Trump has held rallies with very little social distancing or mask-wearing from attendees, and has often eschewed the use of a face covering himself.
“It’s important to recognize the importance of this fabric … The mask serves as a protective shield and it’s the only weapon we have against this invisible virus,” Lam said. “For someone in that top leadership role in our country, the presidency, to mock the wearing of masks is just baffling and shocking.”
Biden and his running mate and California Sen. Kamala Harris have recently tested negative for the coronavirus. Smoller said Biden showing empathy towards Trump in light of the president’s diagnosis is helping his campaign appeal to voters.
“He’s run a perfect campaign. He’s not taking the bait,” Smoller said.
There are over 7.3 million cases and 208,000 deaths related to COVID-19 in the U.S. and pharmaceutical companies have entered Phase 3 clinical trials to combat the pandemic. But despite Trump claiming during the presidential debate that a vaccine will be released “very soon,” nine drug companies pledged to not let politics dictate the vaccine trials’ expediency.
“They understand the ramifications and the serious consequences of having politics influence the whole scientific nature process of a vaccine approval and assessment,” Lam said. “What (Trump) is doing is not for the sake of the American people, for humankind; it’s for his own selfish gain.”
Update Oct. 3, 11:05 a.m. PT: An anonymous source told The New York Times the “president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning,” although Trump’s doctors told reporters Oct. 3 that the president’s symptoms are improving. White House physician Sean Conley also said Trump was diagnosed 72 hours ago, which would suggest Trump tested positive midday Oct. 1.
Update Oct. 3, 11:57 a.m. PT: Three Republican senators have tested positive for COVID-19, postponing Senate activity to Oct. 19. Despite this, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said virtual committee hearings will move forward for Judge Amy Coney Barrett nomination to the Supreme Court.