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Donald Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19

By Justin Sink, Bloomberg

02 October 20

 

onald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis has dramatically altered the closing weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign, with the president now facing not only an unprecedented health challenge but also logistical and staffing chaos about a month before Election Day.

Trump’s illness prompted the White House to cancel political events on Friday, including a rally planned outside Orlando, Florida. Campaign and fundraising trips planned for the coming days -- including visits to key battlegrounds including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada -- are expected to be scrapped as the president remains quarantined at the White House.

Trump leans on his in-person political events to raise cash and create enthusiasm among supporters as he tries to make up ground against Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who leads in polls and fundraising in no small part due to the president’s response to the virus now afflicting him.

Trump had hoped to turn the focus of the final weeks of the campaign away from the pandemic and toward his Supreme Court nominee, the economic recovery and civil unrest -- issues where he believes he holds an advantage. But the lack of his signature rallies and the shift in focus away from the very issues that most excite his voters are likely to make it harder to close the gap with Biden, who has held a steady lead of about 7 percentage points in national polls for some time.

Now, the weeks ahead are sure to be dominated by constant discussion of Trump’s health, turning attention back to a pandemic most Americans think he’s mishandled.

His political concerns are only compounded by the immediate risk of the virus to Trump, a 74-year-old now fighting a disease that has killed more than 200,000 Americans since February. Even if the president remains asymptomatic, he’ll be challenged to keep both the public and financial markets calm as he tries to wage his come-from-behind campaign while sequestered in the White House residence.

U.S. stock futures were down about 1% early Friday after Trump said he and his wife had tested positive. The announcement came hours after a Bloomberg News report that Hope Hicks, one of the president’s closest aides, had fallen ill with the virus.

The implications of the president’s diagnosis are also likely to impact his Democratic challenger, beyond inserting a major new variable into an already unpredictable campaign.

Biden will need to decide whether he too should quarantine, after sharing a debate stage with the president just 72 hours before his positive test. While Biden’s campaign didn’t immediately comment on Trump’s infection, they have said Biden is tested regularly and that they would announce if he contracted the virus.

The former vice president is scheduled to travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday to deliver remarks on his economic agenda and then participate in a voter mobilization event. His campaign didn’t respond to a question about whether that trip is still on.

Even if Biden and his team avoided exposure at the first debate, they face the challenge of navigating the historic development as voters across the nation begin to cast ballots. The Democratic nominee will need to strike the right tone, making sure not to appear to revel in his opponent’s illness while continuing to assail the president’s attitude and policies toward the virus.