Trump tries to show there is no power vacuum

It was the ingredient that was “missing” in the last leg of the turbulent race for the White House: the contagion of coronavirus by President Donald Trump, which has had a destabilizing effect, not only in electoral terms, by forcing campaign strategies to change when There is a month before the elections, but it also caused uncertainty in the markets and a kind of “power vacuum”, before which the government came out to clarify that the president was still in command. This, despite the fact that on Friday afternoon it was reported that Trump was being transferred to the Walter Reed military hospital, where he will remain “for a few days”, without further information being released.

It was Trump himself, through a tweet, who announced at dawn that he had been infected with coronavirus, like his wife Melania, and that both would quarantine in the same White House. This was interpreted as a kind of slap in the face, considering that the President spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the virus, which has already killed more than 205,000 people throughout the country. The news came hours after Trump confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of his top advisers, who traveled with him – both to go to the debate on Tuesday in Cleveland and for the campaign event on Wednesday in Minnesota – had tested positive for the virus.

During the morning, the chief of staff, Mark Meadows, spoke with journalists – without wearing a mask, after having failed the exam – and pointed out that the President was in a good mood and that he made sure that the team was engaged. “We have a President who is not only at work, but who will remain at work,” he said, in a way to clarify that Trump was still in charge. “The great thing about this President is that he not only remains committed to working very hard on behalf of the American people; His first question this morning was, ‘How’s the economy doing, how’s the stimulus talks on Capitol Hill going?’ ”he said.

Trump’s campaign strategists have yet to define the next steps to take. Of course, the first thing they did was remove from the agenda the planned campaign events in Florida and Wisconsin, which are considered highly contested states. He and his political advisers also discussed canceling events next week, but no decision had been made, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

The same newspaper noted that Trump’s absence from the election campaign was likely to be especially significant, because the iconic acts he restarted after Labor Day (September 7) are a central part of his campaign strategy.

“This will prevent him from campaigning in person and there is only one month left until the elections. Added to that is that he is below Biden in the polls. So if he even recovers quickly, this disease will be a big setback, “he told The Third John Pitney, professor at Claremont McKenna College. “If Trump recovers, he will try to take advantage of it, showing off his resilience. Although, in general, it will hurt. He has been making fun of Biden for wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. Now that mockery makes Trump look foolish. Worse still, there is a real possibility that it has infected other people. If they get seriously ill, Trump will be the culprit, “he added.

Among those who could be infected were also those from the West Wing of the White House, who barely knew the news began to send messages to each other, because they indicated that they did not deliver an official communication.

The US press noted that the two remaining debates between Trump and Biden were highly likely to be canceled or drastically changed. The next one is scheduled for October 15, and medical recommendations say Trump is likely to remain isolated until then.

On the Democratic side, alarms also began to sound when it became known that Trump had tested positive. This, after former Vice President Joe Biden shared the stage with the President during the debate on Tuesday. They did not shake hands at that time, but did not wear masks while they were about ten feet apart during the 90-minute event. On the occasion and adding a bit of irony, Trump mocked Biden for wearing a mask and said that he only used it when necessary. The Democratic candidate was tested for the coronavirus on Friday and tested negative.

Trump’s absence from the campaign rallies comes as Democrats began to intensify their face-to-face onslaught. After completing a train trip this week through eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, Biden headed to Michigan on Friday.

His campaign also said it would begin knocking on doors in the most contested states, which the Wall Street Journal said means a change after some Democratic groups expressed concern that they were not using a vital tool to reach voters. Unlike the Trump campaign, Biden’s strategy had previously maintained its focus on reaching voters digitally and by phone, saying it did not want to risk the health of supporters, volunteers and staff members.

Biden’s last primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is also expected to be more interested in promoting the Democratic nomination. This is because he has a socially estranged outdoor rally scheduled in Lebanon, New Hampshire, followed by a self-service rally Monday in Macomb County, Michigan.

Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, tested negative, according to a campaign aide. She is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas, where she will deliver a speech at a voter mobilization event and attend a virtual fundraiser alongside former President Barack Obama.

Biden’s campaign has also surpassed Trump’s in television advertising in recent weeks. From Sept. 1-28, Biden’s campaign spent between $ 130.7 million, while Trump spent $ 49.5 million, data from the Kantar / CMAG company show.

Thus, the entire US was attentive to the evolution of the disease in Trump. If the condition worsens, he could temporarily transfer power to Vice President Mike Pence under Section 3 of the 25th Amendment. It would not be the first time that a President has handed over power. It already happened in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan underwent a colonoscopy, for which he took office for eight “long” hours.