Herman Cain
Julie Dermansky | Corbis News | fake pictures
Herman Cain, a former presidential candidate who was once considered by President Donald Trump for the Federal Reserve, died after being hospitalized with the coronavirus. He was 74 years old.
Cain’s death was announced Thursday on his website by Dan Calabrese, who edits the site and had previously written about his colleague’s diagnosis.
“Herman Cain, our boss, our friend, as a father to many of us, passed away,” Calabrese said in the blog post. “We all prayed a lot every day. We knew the time would come when the Lord would call him home, but we really liked having him here with us, and we hoped he would make a full recovery.”
Calabrese did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for additional comment.
Cain was one of the highest-profile public figures in the United States who died from Covid-19. Cain, a 74-year-old survivor of stage 4 colon cancer, had attended the Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, less than two weeks before receiving his diagnosis.
Cain had been a business executive and chairman of the board of a branch of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank before moving on to Republican politics and eventually becoming a presidential candidate.
Last year, Trump briefly considered choosing Cain as his candidate to join the Federal Reserve Board. Cain remained a vocal advocate for Trump after his nomination was withdrawn, and attended the president’s controversial reelection rally in Oklahoma in June, shortly before he was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Cain had been hospitalized in Atlanta on July 1, two days after he was told he had tested positive for Covid-19, according to a statement posted on his social media accounts at the time.
He did not need a respirator and was “awake and alert” when he checked into the hospital, according to the statement. “Join us in praying for Mr. Cain and for all those who have contracted the coronavirus, as well as for their families,” he said.
Cain tweeted a photo of himself at the Trump rally surrounded by other attendees, none of whom appeared to be wearing masks or other protective gear.
The Trump campaign said that all attendees at the event had their temperature checked upon entry, and that masks and hand sanitizers were provided, but their use was not required.
The campaign revealed before the event that six team members involved in the preparations for the rally had tested positive for the virus and had been quarantined.
The July 2 statement on Cain’s hospitalization read: “There is no way to know for sure how or where Mr. Cain contracted the coronavirus.” The Trump campaign said after Cain’s diagnosis that he had not met with the president at the Tulsa rally.
Cain’s social media accounts occasionally provided vague updates on his condition. A message on July 5 said it was “making progress” and that “more encouraging news” was expected to arrive soon. Two days later, Cain’s Twitter account said, “Doctors are trying to make sure his oxygen levels are correct.”
On July 10, another tweet said Cain himself described his status as “cruise control” because “progress is slow but his breathing is getting stronger every day. Make no mistake: he’s getting better!”
The most recent update came on Monday, when Cain’s social media revealed that he was “being treated with oxygen for his lungs” almost a month after entering the hospital. “It is really improving, which means it is working,” the update said.
Calabrese, the media director for Cain’s website, repeatedly rejected CNBC’s requests for additional information on Cain’s condition during his fight against the virus.
“We are saying nothing more than what we have posted on social media,” Calabrese said in an email on July 7. “That is from Herman and [his wife, Gloria Etchison’s,] I wish, so I appreciate that you respect it. “
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