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AWhen the crowd yells, “We love you,” the president pauses. He smiles. “I love you too,” calls Donald Trump from his balcony to the crowd that has gathered in front of the White House.
His fans wear turquoise T-shirts and red caps, it says “Make America Great Again.” To the rhythm of his words, Trump supporters wave American flags. Whenever the president praises his own policies, they cheer him on. Whenever he mentions his political opponents, they erupt in boos.
Ten days after his corona diagnosis, Trump is back in his element. On Saturday afternoon, East Coast time, he made his first public appearance since his illness. Hundreds of guests must be present. Trump’s personal physician, Sean Conley, had previously written to restore him to health, although he initially announced that he would await the development of Trump’s health over the weekend. Observers agree that the president’s hasty return to the public is due to enormous pressure from Trump.
“Four more years,” the people on the grass yell in unison. In the video recordings it can be seen that they wear masks, but they are not kept at a distance from each other. “I feel great,” says Trump. “And you?” More cheers. No Zoom meeting can convey this sentiment for Trump, no video interview. He needs that kind of confirmation from his fans, he needs the crowd, the cheers, to absorb him like a sponge.
Trump needs normality
There is an existential reason for Trump to be back in public and campaigning. Trump believes that his infection should by no means remain the number one issue in the US He wants normalcy, rallies, campaign speeches, he needs them. Because in the race for the White House he continues to lag behind his rival. In polls, Trump is now in the double-digit percentage point range behind Democrat Joe Biden. Even if the polls were as incorrectly inaccurate as four years ago, according to a New York Times estimate, Biden would likely win.
In short, Trump is under pressure. With his back to the wall, just over three weeks before the elections. That makes it extremely dangerous. He despises weakness and loss of control. Being isolated in the White House prevents him from acting.
So he acts regardless of the high price he or those around him may pay for it. Several American doctors agreed that a longer quarantine would be helpful for more serious corona cases, in the president’s case until October 21.
Three key questions remain unanswered: When did Trump get infected? Who did it infect? And is it still contagious? The White House is silent on the matter, probably by order of the president.
No cough, no breathing problems
Whether Trump has tested negative is now as unknown as the time of his last negative test before his illness. During a telephone interview with Fox News on Thursday night, the president had to take several pauses, clear his throat and cough at least twice. On Saturday, however, he was energetic and spoke loud and clear. He did not cough or have obvious respiratory problems. His face was the usual orange hue, assuming Trump was wearing makeup.
The fact that the president is abusing his office for a campaign event, something forbidden before the Trump era, is nearly falling apart. It is a side effect of constant rule breaking that an individual barely gets noticed. A government spokesman told reporters that it was an “official event”, not an election campaign. The title of the event is “Peaceful protest for law and order.” And yet, during his speech, Trump asks people to “vote against” Biden, even though he is not currently in office.
Trump’s speech at the White House marks the beginning of a whole series of such events. Trump will hold a rally in Florida on Monday, in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and in Iowa on Wednesday. “All participants will be subjected to a temperature control, they will be given masks to wear and access to disinfectants,” the announcement says. That is new.
Trump reiterates his claim that the virus will just go away at some point. “We are going to exterminate the virus from China”, as he calls it, “once and for all.” While he does everything he can to downplay the Corona problem, he recently touted his own treatment as a “cure” and again compared the virus to him. flu: the national epidemic is reaching a critical point. The number of new infections every day is increasing, and there is even a new lockdown in several New York neighborhoods.
Trump prefers to talk about something other than the pandemic
The gravity of the situation is demonstrated by a personality from the last days. Rick Bright, formerly the government’s top vaccine expert and critic of the pandemic’s management, left the National Institutes of Health. He justified his step with the fact that there is still no national strategy to combat pandemics.
The relevant federal authorities would be politicized, manipulated and ignored. “The country is flying blindly into what is possibly the darkest winter in recent history,” the immunologist wrote in an article for the Washington Post.
While Biden’s campaign misses an opportunity to highlight the government’s disastrous crisis management, Trump prefers to speak on anything other than the pandemic. On the balcony of the White House, he praised the American economy and its achievements in fighting violent crime. “I was the one who did that,” says Trump. “I was,” and he repeats, as if to reassure himself: “I did.”
It was exactly two weeks ago that Justice Amy Coney Barrett was nominated for the Supreme Court. The afternoon in the Rose Garden of the White House is considered a wide-spread event. An internal document from the US civil protection agency mentions at least 34 infections in relation to the celebration, according to the station “ABC News”. It is possible that Trump was infected here too, or that he was the one who infected others.
As Trump speaks, he keeps looking at his notes, turning the pages in between. After 18 minutes, Trump finished his speech, which was actually scheduled to last half an hour. Before he got sick, he used to speak for more than an hour and a half at rallies. “I love you,” he yells at his followers once more. He raises his fist in the air, salutes the crowd, applauds the crowd. Then he turns around and heads back to the White House, without putting on his mask first.
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