President Donald Trump attends rallies and campaigns without the protection of a mask |Photo By Pixabay
By Pamela Garcia
Reports from the White House confirmed that President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 early on the morning of Oct. 2 and that the president will remain at Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment.
For most of the year, Trump downplayed the deadly virus and denounced the wearing of a mask which has been known to reduce the spread of the virus. Even though Trump and his administration have been knowledgeable about the virus, Trump still chose to hold multiple campaign rallies throughout the country, putting himself and others at risk. According to ‘theguardian.com’, when supporters attended a Trump rally in Tulsa back in June, they had to sign waivers that they would not hold the President and his campaign responsible if they became sick with coronavirus.
Now that the President is infected with the virus, should more have been done by his administration to get him to wear a mask? This would have been a difficult task since the president had many theories as to why Americans including himself did not have to worry about the disease, for example, he claimed back in March, that the virus would go away in April as the temperature rises. We are now in the Fall and the virus is clearly still around. Then Trump suggested ultraviolet light could be powerful enough to internally kill the virus alongside disinfectant directly injected into the body. This idea along with Trump’s other quick fix theories to combat coronavirus was opposed by medical professionals like America’s top doctor, Anthony Fauci.
The President and the First Lady are not the only ones sick in the White House because there were also reports of Hope Hicks, a Senior Advisor, being infected. With a slew of items on his agenda, many are wondering how the President’s diagnosis is going to affect his campaign schedule. More importantly how long will it take Trump to make a full recovery and should Americans be worried about the President’s condition? Especially, when Trump did not want to worry the American people about the seriousness of coronavirus. As Trump continues to be monitored, so will the full impact of his illness not only here at home but abroad on an international level because the world will definitely be weighing in and watching to see what happens with the President.
CNBC ,WSJ and CNN have all reported that there has been an increase of coronavirus cases in communities throughout the US, however, with the president being infected will those who choose not to wear masks take this disease more seriously? Furthermore, after and if he recovers at all, will Trump himself wear a mask and encourage Americans to do the same? Perhaps the president’s infection can bring more Americans together on an important issue that has been divisive. How the president and his administration handle this critical matter even beyond his recovery can speak louder than any words he has ever spoken before. It’s one thing to talk about a problem, but it is different once someone personally experiences the issue firsthand. This is certainly an unprecedented case and Trump continues to make history at a time when so many Americans are trying to figure out how to deal with coronavirus as part of their present.
