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Public Outcry and Support as President Downplays the Severity of COVID-19
Arcadia Weekly Oct 08, 2020
- Courtesy photo
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Despite the increasing number of cases of coronavirus infections, the president asks the public not to worry. – File photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
By Terry Miller
As the number of deaths from the coronavirus increases in United States, President Donald J. Trump tweeted Monday that Americans should not “be afraid of Covid” or “let it dominate” their lives as he planned to return to the White House.
After a weekend of special cocktails administered by a team of medical professionals — to lessen the blow of the virus — the president has once again contradicted every scientific statistic by saying he doesn’t want anyone to worry about COVID-19. Although 211,000 families who would, no doubt, disagree.
On Monday, Holly Yan wrote for CNN that “While many Americans have struggled to get Covid-19 tests or test results without massive delays, Trump has been ‘the most tested man in America,’ White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.” Now, McEnany has tested positive as have 27 people from the president’s inner circle.
It should also be noted that on Tuesday, some senior Pentagon leaders were quarantining after exposure to the virus.
In the wake of misinformation and outright fact distortion, Facebook has been removing false and disingenuous posts, in particular one where President Trump claimed that influenza is more lethal than COVID-19.
However, the president’s base is still supportive. Supporters gathered outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. to show support for the president. One 56-year-old supporter was quoted by The Guardian as saying, “It’s a hoax. There’s no pandemic. As Trump said, how many millions die of flu?” Another supporter can be heard on video saying he would “die for that man, happily.”
Quoting a New York Post opinion piece Monday, Trump tweeted Monday: “You see it in enthusiasm for the President outside Walter Reed Hospital. You see it in Registrations, from Florida to Pennsylvania & West Virginia, where Republicans are outstripping Democrats by 2 to 1. If the President bounces back onto the campaign trail, he will be an…. ….invincible hero, who not only survived every dirty trick the Democrats threw at him, but the Chinese virus as well. He will show America we no longer have to be afraid.”
That tweet was soon followed by, “Will be back on the Campaign Trail soon!!! The Fake News only shows the Fake Polls.”
With more than 211,000 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, it seems woefully wrong to dismiss the virus when few in the U.S. have access to the kind of treatment Trump has thus far received. Doctors have stated that the medicines prescribed and administered to the president may also have some serious side effects like feelings of euphoria. Trump said Monday he never felt better.
According to KPTV, “Trump received an experimental antibody therapy—remdesivir and dexamethasone—which, according to Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University: ‘The President might be the only patient on the planet ever to receive this particular combination of medicines.’”
