You figured at some point that nasty "Jina Virus" had to catch up with Trump. He and his entourage have blatantly refused to follow COVID protocols since the virus initially broke out across the country in March. At the first and quite possibly last presidential debate, his family defiantly removed their masks after sitting for the event and Trump mocked Biden for wearing a mask at public events. It is this hubris that makes it hard for anyone outside the Trump camp to feel the least bit sorry for the condition he now finds him in.
The spread of this virus to Trump's inner circle has been blamed on Hope Hicks, but it seems the spread took place during Trump's announcement of Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee, three days before the debate. No less than 8 persons tested positive for COVID-19 after that event, including two Republican senators on the Senate judiciary committee. No surprise given all the hugs and kisses that went around. This would also explain why Trump didn't start feeling symptoms until Friday, when he was rushed to Walter Reed Hospital due to complications that had arisen in the White House. Ms. Hicks was simply the first to report being tested positive for coronavirus.
Fortunately for his family, their tests came back negative, except for Melania, who is apparently asymptomatic and now has more reason than ever to stay away from Donald. VP Pence also escaped the virus and will still have to debate Kamala Harris on Tuesday night. Too bad as he was no doubt looking for an excuse to duck out of the event given his fear of strong women. The Biden camp also escaped the virus. It seems that Joe got the last laugh when it came to wearing a mask.
CNN has been all over the story since it broke Friday, once again giving Trump an inordinate amount of free air time but it doesn't seem to be doing him any good. The polls are in after his disastrous debate performance, and coming down with COVID-19 isn't going to garner much sympathy given how nasty he was Tuesday night about wearing masks. More states have come into play, including South Carolina, which the Quinnipiac Poll now calls a dead heat. Trump is already trailing in a number of states he won in 2016, including Ohio and Florida.
The Trump administration spent months trying to downplay the virus despite the ever-increasing death toll. He considered this a dead issue and wanted to focus on the marginal recovery we have been seeing these past three months, trying to claim only he can bring back the robust economy we saw before the virus struck in early March. It doesn't matter that the economy was already slumping in January and that the unemployment rate will most likely spike this month with airlines reporting massive layoffs along with the resort industry, the result of Congress being unable to reach an agreement on another stimulus package. The summer was relatively good economically due in large part to so many states deciding to throw caution to the wind and let businesses reopen despite the spike in coronavirus cases.
Throughout the summer, Trump helped contribute to the spread of the virus with his rallies across the country. His notorious Tulsa rally in June was another superspreader with Herman Cain contracting the virus and subsequently dying in late July. In each and every one of these rallies, he defied COVID protocols, and actively encouraged his supporters to turn their noses up to these phony restrictions. This despite the fact these protocols were issued by his own White House pandemic team and the CDC.
By contrast, Biden kept his rallies to a minimum and exercised extreme caution at these events. No clearer line can be drawn between these two candidates and no doubt Kamala Harris will focus on this during her debate with Mike Pence. Biden might not have the chance to debate Trump again between now and November 3, as we really don't know what condition the president is in, given all the contradictory reports. Biden doesn't really have to. The damage is done.
It will be virtually impossible for Trump to overcome this massive blow to his campaign, as he now finds himself in isolation, quite possibly for the remainder of the campaign. Of course, this hasn't stopped him from taking to the air, but the tweets have become much fewer and further in between. According to his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, "we're still not on a clear path yet to a full recovery." Odd that he is expressing more concern than is Trump's chief physician.
Trump's only hope now is that his Republicans can slow early voting down to a crawl, as Gov. Abbott has done in Texas and Republicans are trying to do in Pennsylvania. Makes you wonder who is trying to rig the election? However, the states that were crucial to him in 2016 -- Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan -- are now led by Democratic governors and secretaries of state so it is very unlikely Republicans will have much influence here. Trump will have a hard enough time holding onto Florida, Ohio and even Texas, which is why "Wheels" Abbott is going out of his way to stifle the vote in the Lone Star State.
It is an election like no other and once again we have our October Surprise. Unfortunately for Donald, he may have to watch the remainder of the campaign from his bed.
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