Despite Having COVID-19, Trump Says He’s Looking Forward to the Next Debate on 15 Oct

If US President Donald Trump ever compiled a dictionary, the words “cautious”, “empathetic”, and “considerate” would probably be omitted.

(The terms “fake news” and “bigly”, however, would be included).

When the coronavirus first started spreading in America, Trump dismissed it as nothing more than a variant of the flu simply because he didn’t want people to panic and stay at home.

Staying at home would mean missing work, and that would impact the economy, which would in turn make him look bad.

But his bungled response to the pandemic has led to over 7 million infections and over 215,000 deaths.

Even though the coronavirus recently made its way to the White House, and to Donald Trump, the 74-year-old is still clearly indifferent to the needs and concerns of others.

Despite Having COVID-19, Trump Says He’s Looking Forward to the Next Debate on 15 Oct

On 29 September, the first presidential debate of 2020 between the incumbent Trump and nominee Joe Biden was held.

There was lots of shouting, interruptions, and unsubstantiated statements, and Biden said some things as well.

Now that Trump has contracted Covid-19, however, there’s no way he’ll be attending the next debate and risk the health of those around him, right?

Right?

On Tuesday (6 Oct), Trump shared a post on Facebook where he said he was looking forward to his second debate with Biden.

If you watched the first debate, you would have noticed that not only were Biden and Trump not wearing masks, many members in the audience (mostly Trump’s family) weren’t wearing face coverings either.

So, if Trump were to attend the debate, it could lead to a host of new infections.

Biden: Call Off Debate If Trump Still Has Covid-19

This is why Biden has suggested that the debate be called off if Trump is still infected.

“If he still has COVID-19, we shouldn’t have a debate,” Biden told reporters.

“I’m not sure what President Trump is all about now. I don’t know what his status is. I’m looking forward to being able to debate him, but I just hope all the protocols are followed,” he said.

It seems unlikely, however, that Trump will miss the debate, no matter his condition.

“President Trump will be healthy and will be there. There’s no getting out of this one for Biden, and his protectors in the media can’t cover for him,”  said Trump’s campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh.

Conflicting Messages

Now, if Trump recovers before attending the debate, then there’s no issue, right?

Well, the problem is that there have been conflicting messages about the severity of Trump’s infection, and, as we all know, Trump isn’t exactly a big fan of the truth, especially when it makes him look bad or weak.

When he first contracted the coronavirus, his aides said he was doing well, but an anonymous source later told reporters that he had received supplemental oxygen twice.

Moreover, when Trump’s doctor was asked by reporters if he had received supplemental oxygen, he repeatedly dodged the question, but eventually said he did.

On Monday (5 Oct), Trump left the Walter Reed Medical Centre and returned to the White House.

The 74-year-old said he “feels better than he did 20 years ago”, but some noticed that he was struggling to breathe when he was posing for pictures.

 

So, there’s a genuine possibility that Trump will claim to have recovered from the infection before attending the debate, but still be infected with the virus.

The second debate is just over a week away, and it remains to be seen if it will go on as planned.

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