Trump Has Contracted The Coronavirus. Here Are The Implications On The Presidential Election
A president whose arrogant demeanor towards the coronavirus pandemic—defying mask mandates, scoffing at his mask-clad opponent, and even disputing his own public health advisers—has backfired.
I woke up early in the morning to the stream of notifications bombarding my phone, reading: “Trump, First Lady Tested Positive For The Coronavirus”. A wave of emotions nudged my brain as if I haven’t been fully aroused from my inconceivable dreams.
Yep. Just as we thought things can’t get more messed up than this—following a distasteful presidential debate filled with interruptions and contempt—COVID-19 once again capped our news coverage.
Indeed, this is no misinformation: the President of the United States has fallen ill to a potentially lethal virus, one which he claimed to be “just like the flu”.
The president has repeatedly made calls undermining the severity of this pandemic, among some most noticeable, calls to reopen businesses, throwing blames at China for letting this virus leak out in the first place while trumpeting his “rapid response” on banning travel from China (comical in itself), mocking Democrat governors for their stringent lockdowns, and backing individuals who sought to “safeguard freedom” at the expense of the vulnerable.
Now, the virus has made a comeback.
Roughly thirty days before the presidential election—one he’s time after time shedded doubt on though it’ll still be his most crucial night in four years—the president himself has contracted this very microbe he taunted at.
Even the most ironic tales couldn’t have possibly come up with a plot like this one.
Here are some implications this illness may pose on the presidential election—perhaps the most important election in the near sight and a pivotal point to salvage democracy from the clownish fiddlings of this incompetent president.
Resting the upcoming presidential debates in limbo
After the downright havoc displayed during the previous debate, people have come to question the material benefits of these disarrays other than bursting out in their comical unprofessionalism and the dim future for democracy.
Several commentators casted doubt on whether these debates—given its fiasco last week—will still proceed. Yet both sides seemed to be unwilling to give up just yet.
Trump’s coronavirus surprise, however, has seriously hazed the prospect and any anticipations regarding the presidential debates. Will they be virtual? Will Trump be able to attend by then? Will those debates be postpones? Canceled? What might happen if so? We honestly can’t say for sure.
The president claimed victory for the previous debate, where he continually intervened in Biden’s designated speaking time and spat as both sides ricocheted disparaging words in a stark show of insolent exchange. It would be unimaginable to have the two remaining debates as—or, in the worst possible scenario, even more—uncouth as the last one.
The news of infection has drawn an array of speculations regarding the presidential debate, especially in the sake of the president. Yet we’ll have to wait and see; in 2020, nobody can possibly tell.
An even tougher line on China
The rippling effects triggered by this dilemma will, almost inevitably, bring China onto the table. Ever since the coronavirus began its predominating rise in the United States due to Trump’s indifferent approach throughout the crisis, China has taken most of his blame even when he initially commended the very country of “doing a great favor to the world in its extremely well-coordinated epidemic response”.
Since the economy began its carefree stride following a dramatic spike in community-spread cases around the States, Trump has turned his finger-pointing expertise to China for initially downplaying the scale and gravity of this virus—which is true, yet Trump‘s “response” is nothing but an attempt to divert public attention for his ill-played manner onto an us-versus-them blame game.
The diplomatic deterioration between the United States and China will not generate a winner. It is a starkly self-degrading approach to a norm in the realm of international relations, and Trump is—and most probably will—bring it further to content his disdainful heart.
For months, Trump has strove to swing the election topic to “law and order” after sporadic violent riots erupted shadowing a wave of protests calling for social justice or deploying words of division including his racist reference to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus” or the “Kung-Flu”.
Trump is a flat-out chauvinist when it comes to foreign policy, and his infection will not upend his prejudices any time soon.
A dramatic overturn in voter sentiment (or most likely not)
Although getting politically conspiring in a health bout is ethically inappropriate, people can’t help but linking his health conditions to the upcoming presidential election—which is set to take place in less than a month.
Trump could well use this as a selling point to bring about a wave of triumph with his infection. If he only had a mild symptom, he could boast how this virus is just “like the flu” and didn’t cause any distress to him, thus nor should it be to others.
Conversely, if this turns out to be—let’s hope not—agonizing for him, like it did to the similarly heedless Boris Johnson, it may, to some extent, boost his image in front of not only his own and Trump-leaning constituents, but also a minority of undecided voters.
Whichever way this may head to, both Trump and Biden can exploit this infection to their own advantage.
After all, this outcome, which stunned the world, depicts a sharply contrasting portrayal between the conspiracy-stowing, defiant President who appealed to packed, mask-less crowds whose ignorance replenish his campaign events time and time again, and a prudent man ungrudging to sacrifice his prospects drawing clusters of bustling audiences.
The virus does not discern partisan lines. It first penalizes the undisciplined bunch.
Trump’s fate tells it all.
