I want to start off by sending my best wishes to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
Roaring crowds and loyal supporters, something that is a trademark of President Trump. We will not be seeing that the next week or two. The irony is, just as the President is taking a break from the campaign trail, Joe Biden is hitting the road after being quarantine for the past months.
I remember back in 2016, people criticized Hillary Clinton for not traveling to Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Some said that may have cost her the election. That is not a mistake then candidate Trump made and he still makes trips to those states to rile up his base. That is until now, just 31 days until Election Day. I wonder how this will effect voters.
Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for Covid and will continue to campaign. He will also participate in the Vice Presidential debate with Kamala Harris in Salt Lake City, Utah.
President Trump is currently at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He will be working from there for the next few days. The visit is said to be out of an abundance of caution. After the Presidents positive test, there were different reactions. The Biden campaign pulled negative ads out of respect and there are many sending prayers to the President. There were some though, that went to social media to say they hope the President dies. I understand people being happy when Osama Bin Laden for example dies, but it just does not sit right with me for people to hope our President dies. This seems to be justified by the consistent labeling of President Trump as a racist, comparisons to Hitler and similar claims. I still think it is not respectful (I am not saying I would pray for Hitler’s survival). Twitter, Facebook and Tik Tok are taking down posts wishing death upon the President. As much as it feels uncomfortable for some American citizens to wish death on their own president, it also does not feel right silencing those who express that wish. Our First Amendment does not exist to protect statements that ‘feel good.’
How do you think the President’s diagnosis will affect the election?