Trump Has COVID megathread (update 10/24: 2 Pence staffers test positive)

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Trump getting COVID is not just horrible optics for him, it's potentially dangerous. He's obese and doesn't seem to be in good health. It also makes him look ridiculously stupid for attacking Biden on masks.

Do you think he won’t get a sympathy boost?

I don't think so, given his consistently cavalier attitude on COVID-19, if he caught it, it would be seen as him being hoisted on his own petard.

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This could just be a ploy to get out of further debates. It's interesting that someone near the President suddenly tested positive for the virus right after he had a huge meltdown on stage. Quarantine is a perfect way to avoid the next debate. They could even maneuver the situation to get Pence out of debating Harris.

Why would they do that? They're losing right now and they have to know that. They need the debates to have the chance to turn the campaign around, what's the difference between losing by 10 and losing by 20? Also having Trump in quarantine puts all the spotlight on COVID-19, easily Trump's worst issue, one where he has basically no arguments in his favor and which he has desperately tried to get out of the news.

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TRUMP WASN'T TESTED BEFORE THE DEBATE!!!

https://twitter.com/AndrewKirell/status/1312121190597586944?s=20

It's fine. They were really far away from one another at the only point that Joe was maskless.

The thing is that until today I haven't seen Joe wearing an N95 mask. My understanding is that a cloth or surgical mask will block most (90%+) of the droplets/particles you emit but it will only provide 50-75% protection for you. Of course that's much better than nothing, but an N95 is better since it provides 95% protection from airborne particles. I think it would be good practice for him to start wearing N95 masks like the one in the picture today. There are higher grades of mask he could choose if he wanted even better protection (N99, N100)

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https://twitter.com/Tom_Winter/status/1312124138190905345

Hopefully this is widely reported because it would blow holes through his post-recovery "I defeated the virus because I'm strong" or "COVID-19 isn't that bad, it's like the flu" narrative (assuming he recovers). He's now getting the best medical care possible, including these experimental treatments that are not available to the public, and without any regard to cost.
Of course, as President of the United States he should get this treatment. But Biden/Democrats should remind voters that they would not get nearly the same level of treatment and turn it into a talking point that Trump doesn't care about ordinary people.

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I wonder if they’re discussing the 25th. I’d bet Pence cancels the debate ASAP just to be safe.

When you're as far behind in the polls as that ticket, canceling debates isn't something you do.

They're basically out of chances to "reset" or get a favorable news cycle. Debates are the only avenues left for that to happen.

Well now that Biden is basically worshipping this genocidal maniac, he will get a sympathy bump. The debates won’t be needed.

If you're suggesting Biden should still go negative against Trump right now, you're crazy. Biden is running on decency, bipartisanship, and "restoring the soul of America" and is openly trying to get moderate Republicans to vote for him. If he continued to be negative while Trump is in Walter Reed, his message would be ruined.

Now is a perfect time for him to be positive and establish his vision, which many people here have criticized him for not doing. The case that Trump caught the coronavirus due to his own negligence makes itself to any thinking person and he can have surrogates talk about that. In any case, any time coronavirus is at the top of the news, it hurts Trump (like Hillary's emails hurt Hillary).

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Damn it.  He got away with virtually everything his entire life.  I do not want him to die before he sees election results live on television showing himself not just defeated but repudiated in a landslide by the country.  He does not deserve that mercy.    

Based on everything I've read, dying of COVID-19 is not a merciful end.

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The drug treatments they are giving Trump are super random and possibly really risky.

https://twitter.com/lmorello_dc/status/1312240768376082438?s=20
 

https://twitter.com/lmorello_dc/status/1312240770867486725?s=20

It may be bad form right now, but what happened to hydroxycholoroquine? Why isn't he taking it now? Is that yet another Trump lie revealed? How many people did he (and Bolsonaro) drive down the wrong path by pushing HCQ so hard?

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So.... he was sick at the debate. Found out the next morning. And probably waited a day and a half because revealing you were sick the day after the debate would’ve been a big scandal. But now we know.

In that case, Trump would have been highly infectious at the debate and I pray 12 feet of distance was enough. Joe is not out of the woods yet, early negative tests can be false negatives. This is a science experiment arguably with the fate of America hanging on it.

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You know, a politician who was capable of any degree of grace or dignity, or even only who had handlers and orbiters who were, probably would be getting a ~sympathy bump~ from this. Fortunately for the Biden campaign, though, Trumpworld gonna Trumpworld.

Also Biden is perfectly justified now in making statements that everyone should follow the science, listen to the public health experts, wear masks, social distance, etc, and this may be the most effective anti-Trump statement that he could give. It's 100% Trump's fault that common sense public health advice is a campaign message against him.

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why would the chief of staff ask to go off the record?

why not make his statements publicly?


Did his chief of staff really walk over to the press and say that Trump wasn't doing well, immediately after the doc just reported something totally different?

OR

Did reporters get information hours before, but they all agreed to wait until after the doctor's conference before sharing that info, to give false image of chaos and contradictions?
 

You do realize he's on video asking to go off the record today right? You people are so embarrassing.

https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/1312429131079057409
 

Video of him asking to go off the record today does not = he made the relevant comments off the record today

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https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1312525833505058816?s=09

Yeah this speech indicates he will continue downplaying the virus. He won’t get a sympathy bump if this is his messaging.

He's really going with "It's a good thing I got this virus"

Un-f***ing believable.

Well he went through that entire 4 minute segment without insulting anyone. I was almost expecting him to go back into campaign mode and start blasting Sleepy Joe again. So he outdid my expectations.

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https://twitter.com/Bob_Wachter/status/1312792223428165633
Thank God we have a REAL DOCTOR telling us what's going on

Thanks for posting this thread. I'd recommend everyone takes the time to skim it. It's only 8 tweets, but he summarises the state of Trump's health, and paints a clearer, if darker image of the overall situation.

TLDR; Trump's scans probably showed evidence of pheumonia, Trump tried to refuse O₂ for some bizarre reason, and he certainly shouldn't try to go home tomorrow, based on existing medical evidence.

This.

It is infuriating, though as well as par for the course, that the Trump White House can't even manage to be anything other than complete Liars even when posed with the simple question, how is the president's health.

I mean, it's totally expected, given that everything has a political angle, literally everything, even the president's health. Trump is almost entirely to blame for this and this may ultimately be the greatest sin of his presidency.

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Those upset are those rooting for his demise.

To many if not most of us it was another signal of strength and that he's fighting back.  If masks work, why is anyone upset about him being masked up inside the SUV with others also in masks?   Can't have it both ways.

You clown! No one ever said the mask protects you 100%, it helps mitigate the spread. The best thing to do is social distance with a mask, but we know that's not feasible in every situation. I swear. Ugh, I'm ready to vote already.

I was told the protestors/rioters didn't spread COVID at all because they had a mask on.

The protestors were outdoors. Trump and the Secret Service were in a car that is actually hermetically sealed against chemical attacks, meaning that Trump's infectious particles literally have nowhere to go except spread within the car. Try again.

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Those upset are those rooting for his demise.

To many if not most of us it was another signal of strength and that he's fighting back.  If masks work, why is anyone upset about him being masked up inside the SUV with others also in masks?   Can't have it both ways.

You clown! No one ever said the mask protects you 100%, it helps mitigate the spread. The best thing to do is social distance with a mask, but we know that's not feasible in every situation. I swear. Ugh, I'm ready to vote already.

I was told the protestors/rioters didn't spread COVID at all because they had a mask on.

The protestors were outdoors. Trump and the Secret Service were in a car that is actually hermetically sealed against chemical attacks, meaning that Trump's infectious particles literally have nowhere to go except spread within the car. Try again.

Tom Tillis was outdoors with a mask on and still caught it.

The ACB event was both outdoors and indoors. The photos I saw of the indoors part did not show anyone putting their mask on. Try again.

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Masks don't prevent you from getting COVID.

Masks stop you from giving COVID to other people.

Thom Tillis wearing a mask wouldn't have saved him from Kellyanne Conway breathing in his face.  Instant COVID.  Just ask Kellyanne's daughter.

And masks are only reducing a certain percentage of the particles.  They are effective because they reduce the ODDS of spreading the disease to someone.  If you keep reducing the odds enough you can slow the spread enough to contain the virus.  Like instead of 100 people a day getting COVID, it might be 10 or 15 people a day.  Same with social distancing.

But Trump sitting right next to a secret service agent in a hermetically sealed vehicle for an extended period of time?  The mask won't stop him from breathing his COVID particles all throughout the vehicle.  Mark my words, every single person in that vehicle will contract COVID within the week.

It's totally indefensible.  But such is life in Trump's administration.

I saw the Secret Service agents in the picture wearing N95 masks. So they have a chance of not catching it. But if I were in the car, I'd also be wearing a face shield and disposable gown and still be sweating that I was infected.

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Masks don't prevent you from getting COVID.

Masks stop you from giving COVID to other people.

Thom Tillis wearing a mask wouldn't have saved him from Kellyanne Conway breathing in his face.  Instant COVID.  Just ask Kellyanne's daughter.

And masks are only reducing a certain percentage of the particles.  They are effective because they reduce the ODDS of spreading the disease to someone.  If you keep reducing the odds enough you can slow the spread enough to contain the virus.  Like instead of 100 people a day getting COVID, it might be 10 or 15 people a day.  Same with social distancing.

But Trump sitting right next to a secret service agent in a hermetically sealed vehicle for an extended period of time?  The mask won't stop him from breathing his COVID particles all throughout the vehicle.  Mark my words, every single person in that vehicle will contract COVID within the week.

It's totally indefensible.  But such is life in Trump's administration.

I saw the Secret Service agents in the picture wearing N95 masks. So they have a chance of not catching it. But if I were in the car, I'd also be wearing a face shield and disposable gown and still be sweating that I was infected.

N-95 Masks are good, although naturally do not completely stop the spread of the disease...

When they first re-opened the Factory I work at after the Forest Fire Smokes shut the joint down, we had complaints from line-workers about the smoke levels inside the Factory with particulates, even although Indoor AQI was only around 180 vs the 500+ levels we were experiencing outside, and complaints from the workers were "will masks be provided"...

Only mask that might have helped against the smoke from the Forest Fires was obviously not available to Factory Workers in Oregon because of dramatic shortages....

The rest of us "normal workers" don't get anything close to the PPE afforded to the wealthy, powerful, not to mention even masks designed to protect medical workers against COVID-19...

Trump did not appear to be wearing an N-95 mask, unless I missed something... plus please source the seeing Secret Service Members wearing N-95 masks....

Not doubting you, but this s**t is real....

Trump was not wearing one indeed, but the guy sitting in the front passenger seat is. He may be wearing a face shield as well.

And yes, N95 is not perfect, it will block 95% of airborne particles. There's N99 and N100 but I don't know if that's available for anyone to purchase now.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-covid-19-updates-sunday/h_ab956b255062d78ea69d73afa78f47ac

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The implication that the 200,000+ people who have already died from COVID are just weak ...going to be interesting to see how that plays.

For how accurate Trump's political instincts turned out to be in 2016.... they are turning out equally inaccurately this time.

Honestly if he wins over the electorate with his message this year, it says more about the voters than him and it may be time to leave the US.

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Even beyond the obvious reckless and tone-deaf nature of his new "I caught COVID and it's not that bad" message, I think it's awful for him electorally, even if he really does recover without further complications. The message might get sympathy among the 18-40 age group (for them you could reasonably say it's true), but this will not sway their vote. But the 65+ age group most certainly will hate this message with a passion and it will sway their votes. Old people hate more than anything when people even mention, much less mock, their mortality, which Trump is doing here.  

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Even beyond the obvious reckless and tone-deaf nature of his new "I caught COVID and it's not that bad" message, I think it's awful for him electorally, even if he really does recover without further complications. The message might get sympathy among the 18-40 age group (for them you could reasonably say it's true), but this will not sway their vote. But the 65+ age group most certainly will hate this message with a passion and it will sway their votes. Old people hate more than anything when people even mention, much less mock, their mortality, which Trump is doing here.

Folks under 40 care as much about COVID & social distancing as any other age group. This won't get him anything but anger

Sorry, that one I don't think is true. Maybe 25-40. Otherwise Spring Break 2020 wouldn't have been such a disaster ("If I get corona, I get corona"), college campuses would not have instantly turned into COVID hot spots when students came back, and "COVID parties" would have never become a thing.

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Even beyond the obvious reckless and tone-deaf nature of his new "I caught COVID and it's not that bad" message, I think it's awful for him electorally, even if he really does recover without further complications. The message might get sympathy among the 18-40 age group (for them you could reasonably say it's true), but this will not sway their vote. But the 65+ age group most certainly will hate this message with a passion and it will sway their votes. Old people hate more than anything when people even mention, much less mock, their mortality, which Trump is doing here.  

Wrong.
Young people are more likely to be laughing at Trump for catching Covid-19. Remember, we grew up in a less "polite" World thanks to the internet, there is no sympathy in the lower age brackets. If anyone would give a sympathy bump, it would be people 40-65. Old enough to be prone to such a trend, but young enough to not be massacred by Covid.

Yes, they're laughing at Trump, but what I meant was that if "I caught COVID and it wasn't that bad" is accepted generally, then social distancing restrictions would be undone, and they can resume partying, clubbing, bar hopping, etc, which of course they desperately want to do. That's why I say they would sympathize with that view point.

I live in NJ, and there (and in NYC) such activities are still severely restricted. Maybe elsewhere in the US the partying/bar scene is already back.

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Yeah...Covid-downplaying when he was transported to a hospital several days ago is not a good strategy. This will hurt him.

It's not the downplaying that'll help him it's suggesting we open up. A lot of people, especially undecided younger people really want that.

Younger voters do not trust a word Trump says. I really don't know where this idea that 18-35-year-old voters are magically going to break hard towards Trump because OH YEAH BEER PONG AND 69ING, BRO is coming from, but it's not going to happen. Trump has been pushing hard for reopening for six months now and it hasn't moved the needle with young voters, or anyone else for that matter; why in the world would that change now?

The fact that it's been seven months and a lot of people are getting stir crazy. Of course that idea wasn't as popular when this was all new.

Trump's messaging will start appealing to undecided voters and make them suddenly break hard towards him any day now...any day now...any day now...

I swear, it's like you want him to win again so you can be confirmed in your low opinion of the American public.

The American public reelected an obvious war criminal with over 50% of the vote in 2004, and then gave us Donald Trump. Forgive me for having a low opinion of our electorate.

Also, this is is almost certainly a majority introvert forum (myself included) so we aren't gonna grasp it but a lot of people still feel very limited and "Let's just get on with things, we can't do this forever" becomes a talking point that really resonates.

I agree with you that it could resonate, hell I am tired of working from home and want to go back to the office. However, the 65+ age group will hate this message as it is essentially sacrificing them for the economy. If a candidate were to trade younger voters for older voters, that's a winning trade almost all the time.

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My brain has melted after reading these last 3 pages. I swear folks' only exposure to young people has been on the news. They think everyone under 35 is a dude-bro who just wants to party at spring break, play beer pong, eat Tide pods, watch UFC and who find mask-wearing 'hella uncool'.

No surprise that those the same people paintbrushing young people are those who said Trump will win if COVID disappeared from the news are now proclaiming not only Trump's impending reelection but a newfound domination with young voters (One of his solidly worst groups) after CATCHING COVID AND BEING AN ACTIVE SPREADER!

Hacks, plain and simple. Not even doomers, because that would imply they don't want Trump to win.

You're not going to convince me that there isn't a substantial fraction of the 18-22 year group like this. We've all been to college. It's obvious why colleges instantly became COVID hotspots when they allowed students back on campus, and we saw in Spring Break 2020 Florida's beaches were packed with this age group who thought "If I get corona, I get corona."

For the 23-35 age group, I'd say that you have a better point. Generally the college partiers will grow out of their ways especially if their workplace doesn't really tolerate that kind of culture.

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My brain has melted after reading these last 3 pages. I swear folks' only exposure to young people has been on the news. They think everyone under 35 is a dude-bro who just wants to party at spring break, play beer pong, eat Tide pods, watch UFC and who find mask-wearing 'hella uncool'.

No surprise that those the same people paintbrushing young people are those who said Trump will win if COVID disappeared from the news are now proclaiming not only Trump's impending reelection but a newfound domination with young voters (One of his solidly worst groups) after CATCHING COVID AND BEING AN ACTIVE SPREADER!

Hacks, plain and simple. Not even doomers, because that would imply they don't want Trump to win.

You're not going to convince me that there isn't a substantial fraction of the 18-22 year group like this. We've all been to college. It's obvious why colleges instantly became COVID hotspots when they allowed students back on campus, and we saw in Spring Break 2020 Florida's beaches were packed with this age group who thought "If I get corona, I get corona."

For the 23-35 age group, I'd say that you have a better point. Generally the college partiers will grow out of their ways especially if their workplace doesn't really tolerate that kind of culture.

You really don’t understand just how much Gen Z hates Trump, do you?

That has nothing to do with what I said, the poster I responded to basically said that the "dude-bros" are a small portion of the 18-35 population, and that's just not true, particularly 18-22. It's reasonable that this age group hates Trump so much that even if he guaranteed them free keggers every weekend for life, they would still vote against him.

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The White House should just hold a huge COVID party at this point.