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WARREN, Ohio / BANGOR, Penn. (Reuters) – As Americans took in the news on Friday that President Donald Trump had tested positive for the new coronavirus, some of his supporters expressed surprise that he had not been safe from the infection and said their support did not wane. .
“It was shocking,” said Maranda Joseph, 43, of Warren, Ohio, who has 12 Trump flags in his front yard adorned with skeletons and other Halloween decorations. “Seeing he has it wakes you up a bit. Anyone can get it, even the president.
Trump tweeted early Friday morning that he and his wife, Melania, had tested positive https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-trump/trump-shows-covid-19-symptoms -as- positive-test-rocks-white-house-campaign-idUSKBN26N0K4 after a fast-paced campaign week in which he visited seven states https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN26N30G and debated with his Democratic rival at the November election, Joe Biden.
The Republican has downplayed the risks of the virus and the COVID-19 disease that has killed more than 207,000 Americans, drawing criticism for his erratic messages and the recent resumption of campaign rallies where his supporters often huddle together and not use. More expensive.
Officials in Minnesota and New Jersey, two of Trump’s stops this week, urged everyone who attended his events to get tested.
Joseph, a homemaker, said she believes more people should wear masks at future Trump rallies, though she added that she will attend one herself once the president recovers.
“People with compromised immune systems should stay home,” he said.
Some in Warren expressed skepticism that Trump even has the virus, citing Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s positive test earlier this year before it came back negative that same day.
“There are so many false positives out there. Has Trump done a second test yet?” asked Sharon Tice, 70, who sells T-shirts and other Trump memorabilia. “But if you do, it could influence the way you see things.”
Some Republicans said the diagnosis could help the president.
“Trump will show the American people that you can survive COVID,” said Cathy Lukasko, Assistant GOP Chairperson for Trumbull County, Ohio.
More than 7.2 million infections have been reported in the United States since the pandemic began seven months ago.
Lukasko ran the party’s offices on Friday without a mask, handing out posters for Trump and local Republican candidates.
“This could be a good break for him,” he said.
The reactions reflected a long-standing pattern: Americans are largely settled in their views on Trump. A Reuters / Ipsos poll released on Thursday showed Biden holding a 9-point lead over Trump heading into the November election, the same margin in six of the last seven national polls, a period of time that has seen the deaths of Supreme Court Justice Ruth. Bader Ginsburg and the chaotic debate on Tuesday night.
In Bangor, Pennsylvania, Trump supporter Jack Cooper, a 70-year-old retired electrician, said the president was paying the price for underestimating the dangers of the virus. However, he said that wouldn’t stop him from voting for Trump again.
“He’s trying his own medicine,” said Cooper, who lives in a crucial district. “I was playing without a mask in big crowds. It’s like bringing a pit bull to a big crowd, something is going to happen.”
(Report by Ernest Scheyder and Nick Brown, written by Scott Malone; Editing by Grant McCool)
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