It’s obvious that Donald Trump has been unable to successfully contain COVID-19. It is true that a pandemic of this scale has been unprecedented within the past century, so there is no plan instituted to combat such an unexpected situation. However, it is certain that president Donald Trump did not combat COVID-19 as well as he could have. The safety measures were not implemented in time, nor was it as effective in reducing the spread of the COVID-19. The attempt to eradicate the virus failed very quickly, and within a few short weeks, the virus began spiraling out of control. As a result, it quickly became a race to contain it, which has also failed. This is largely due to the fact that the president and the government did not take the virus seriously and did not take the appropriate actions. As a republican, and a huge advocate for a better American economy, Trump is tunnel visioned on making sure the economy is the number one priority of the country. While I would not argue with him on the fact that the American economy is at its all-time high, I personally believe having a president with such a priority makes this pandemic have really poor timing, as a democrat would have likely been able to contain the virus much more quickly, but a president with very conservative ideals has left America in the hole that we are in.
However, karma seemed to strike Donald Trump, as his negligence eventually came back to bite him, as he, along with the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, contracted COVID-19, two of almost 8 million total cases in America. Donald Trump was already at high risk to contract COVID-19, given his old age and his higher BMI for a person his height. For this reason, Trump contracting COVID-19 could be devastating, and it is possible that this was the case. Even though photos and videos have seemed to show that his diagnosis was not severe, Trump’s medical doctors say otherwise. His oxygen level was said to have “dropped to a level that can indicate that a patient’s lungs are compromised”, which is something that usually only occurs in severe cases of the virus, and consequently, Trump was prescribed a drug called dexamethasone. This is critical information, because such a drug is only used in the most severe COVID-19 cases to fight off the immune system overreaction that leads to these types of cases, and this medication is not typically used in mild cases. Even though there is convincing evidence that Donald Trump’s infection was severe, it is possible that given his position as the president of the United States, doctors wanted to ensure a fast recovery for him so he could go back to serving our country, but there is no way to know for sure, unless Trump decided to come out with more clarity.
Given the close proximity to the presidential election, I find it unlikely that Donald Trump and his advisors would decide to publicly announce the fine details of Trump’s encounter with COVID-19. The last thing Donald Trump would want is to contradict himself as a result of his own negligence. Trump is a man with unorthodox beliefs, such as not believing in global warming, or his support of torture, such as the form of waterboarding, in which the experience of drowning is simulated. In a similar manner, Donald Trump has continually waved off the threat of COVID-19 until it was practically undeniable that COVID-19 is killing hundreds of thousands of American citizens. On the other hand, Joe Biden has been much more cautious about the COVID-19 pandemic, as Trump comments that “[Biden] could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask ever”, implying that Biden has been too cautious, which does not seem to be much of an argument. However, at the end of the day, Joe Biden was not the one who contracted the virus; Biden remains healthy and Donald Trump had to face the symptoms of a virus plaguing our world, something that has been left uncontrolled partially because of the president’s poor decision making and lack of urgency to distance us from each other.
Overall, how does this impact Donald Trump? Polls that have tried to answer this question have come up with mixed opinions on this issue. On one side, a Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald Poll showed that Donald Trump’s diagnosis with COVID-19 has led to a four to five point increase in support towards Joe Biden. Other polls, such as one by Monmouth University has found that the recent discovery has not affected the poll results by any considerable margin. As mentioned briefly, how these polls could significantly change could depend on how Trump publicizes his status during and even after his diagnosis. All of this could make a huge difference on the results of the election. As of now, Trump has relayed minimal information, but had he been more open and honest, these views could change. For example, if it is found that the president did not properly quarantine before the two weeks ended, then this could also be a problem. Ultimately, how he continues to play his cards after his diagnosis is a huge deal, especially since Trump is already losing to Biden in the polls, and needs anything he can get to get a potential lead over his opponent.