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President Donald Trump experienced only “mild symptoms” on Friday after contracting Covid-19, a senior adviser said, but the Republican’s already difficult reelection campaign was founded, sparking further confusion in the contest a month before the day. of the elections.
Briefing reporters at the White House, Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said that the 74-year-old president had few symptoms while in quarantine at his residence and was in a “good mood” and “very energetic. “.
“The American people can rest assured that we have a president who is not only at work, he will continue to work, and I am optimistic that he will have a very quick recovery,” Meadows said.
However, Trump’s disappearance from the election campaign threw up a giant new question mark about the fate of his second-term bid, which opinion polls show him on track to lose to Democrat Joe Biden.
The main theme of Biden’s campaign has been that Trump’s frequent downplaying of the pandemic and mixed messages about wearing masks are to blame for the scale of the crisis in the United States, where more than 200,000 people have died.
Biden, who was very close to Trump for 90 minutes during his first temper debate Tuesday in Cleveland, announced that he and his wife Jill had been tested and tested negative.
Biden, 77, said they would “pray for the health and safety of the president and his family,” but added a direct message for the man who has repeatedly mocked him for his rigorous use of masks.
“I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, maintain social distance, and wash your hands,” Biden said.
Underlining the contrast between the state of the two campaigns, Biden went ahead with his previously scheduled campaign trip to the changing state of Michigan.
Trump, who has repeatedly questioned the severity of the pandemic, first announced in an overnight tweet that he and first lady Melania Trump, 50, had tested positive and were in quarantine.
The shocking announcement sparked a freeze on his plans to raze the country in an attempt to catch up with Biden before the Nov.3 election.
A rally planned for Florida on Friday was canceled, as was a rally in Wisconsin on Saturday and others in western states like Arizona next week.
“All previously announced campaign events involving the president’s participation are in the process of being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed,” the Trump campaign said in a statement.
Even the second Trump-Biden debate, scheduled for October 15, is now in doubt.
Despite assurances from the White House that Trump continued to work, he did not keep the only item left on his public agenda on Friday: a pre-planned phone call to discuss what was billed as “Covid-19 support for people. vulnerable seniors “.
An official who asked not to be named said “not to read too much in a small time change” and noted that Trump had spoken by phone with Republican leaders.
The White House did not say whether Trump will address the nation soon.
Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany only told Fox News: “You will see and hear the president as he goes along.”
“He wants to talk to the American people,” but the staff “have to hold him back a little bit” and “make sure he takes it easy,” he said.
The news of Trump’s infection came just after one of his closest advisers, Hope Hicks, tested positive, sparking fears that a cluster of cases emanated from the heart of the White House.
Trump met with dozens of people during the week and reportedly went to a fundraiser in New Jersey after it became known that Hicks had contracted the virus.
The White House said it was conducting contact tracing, while Melania Trump’s spokeswoman said the couple’s 14-year-old son, Barron, had tested negative.
Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo all let it be known that they had tested negative, and the White House said Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett also tested negative.
But GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel, who was with Trump for the last time on September 25, tested positive earlier this week, according to US media reports.
Technically obese and in his 70s, Trump is in a higher risk category.
Dr. Daniel Griffin, an infectious disease specialist in the New York area, told AFP that Trump had an estimated 20 percent chance of developing a serious illness that required oxygenation, in light of his age and weight.
As the news sent global stocks tumbling, leaders like Germany’s Angela Merkel and Britain’s Boris Johnson wished the president and first lady a speedy recovery, while Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted that “vitality, good spirits and Trump’s optimism “would carry it out.
bur-sms / ec
