Early on the 2nd of October, Donald Trump, President of the United States, announced on Twitter that he had tested positive for Covid-19. The 74-year-old disclosed the news shortly after tweeting that one of his senior advisors, Hope Hicks (31), had tested positive for the virus. He finished the message off with ‘We will get through this TOGETHER!’ Melania Trump (First Lady) later told the media that their 14 year old son Barron Trump had also contracted the virus.  Trump was seen at various rallies and other events not wearing the mandatory mask and disregarding social distancing guidelines, along with many of his supporters, colleagues and family. 

The president appeared to be doing well at first, with ‘only mild symptoms’ , but at around midday (US time) on the 2nd his oxygen levels dropped dramatically, and he was administered oxygen by the White House physician, Dr Sean Conley. Despite the White House itself containing fully equipped medical facilities, President Trump was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) for monitoring. Due to his age, weight and gender, he is in a high-risk category. He weighs approximately 110 kilograms (17.3 stone), which, for his height (6 foot 3 or 190 cm) is obese. He is also a man, automatically putting him in at slightly higher risk, combined with the fact that he is classified as elderly.

On Saturday, Mr. Trump’s oxygen levels dropped again, and he was closely watched by medical staff and given the drug dexamethasone, which has been shown to help Covid-19 patients. The president has been administered with several experimental and highly expensive medications and drugs over the past couple of days since his diagnosis, and as of Tuesday (the 6th), he is doing well and doctors at WRNMMC discharged him from hospital. He then made a controversial return to the White House when he took of his mask on the south balcony before saluting Marine One as it left the south lawn.

How has the public reacted? 

Since the announcement of Hope Hicks’ diagnosis, Trump’s tweets have received over 6.2 million likes as his supporters closely follow his recovery. However, he has received thousands, if not millions of replies to his tweets saying things like ‘it’s karma’, ‘you deserve this’ and ‘you have ruined so many people’s lives that you got what was coming to you’, along with many other messages of hate that show people’s dislike for Trump, some of which have been obscene. Twitter has reacted very strongly to these messages and comments, announcing that they violate the platform’s rules and any more hate messages directed at President Trump could result in the perpetrators’ suspension from the site.  

The opinion polls taken of American citizens regarding the upcoming election (see our brilliant article US Elections: An Explanation) at https://www.curioustimes.co.uk/us-elections) have shown that Trump’s support has gone down quite a bit recently, with Joe Biden having a clear lead, but is unclear whether this has anything to do with his diagnosis. 

What has happened to Trump’s family and colleagues? 

The First Lady, Melania Trump, tested positive at the same time as the president, along with around 10 other people in Trump’s close circle. However, four of his five children tested negative, along with his son Eric’s wife. Joe Biden, the other presidential candidate and his wife, Jill, both tested negative despite Trump having had a debate with Biden, 77, on the 30th of September. Many of people who work closely with the president in the White House or have visited him there have tested positive, including senators, press officers, advisers and the Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross. Trump’s close contacts are still being traced, and as he and people close to him have not been appropriately social distancing and wearing masks, he may have infected any number of people.  

Will this affect the upcoming election? 

As of yet, the election is still going ahead as normal and will take place on the 3rd of November 2020. Many of the voters will be sending in their ballots via post to avoid face-to-face contact. As the date of the election is set by federal law as the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, Trump does not have the power to change that, and if he wanted to, Congress would have to intervene. However, things are moving extremely fast, so make sure to check reliable news platforms such as the BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/) for regular updates.  

If you feel worried or nervous about anything in this article or the current pandemic, talk to a trusted adult or head to https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus for advice and information about Covid-19.