11/08/2023

Trump tests positive for COVID-19: World reacts to coronavirus diagnosis

President Donald Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for coronavirus.Taking to Twitter this afternoon, just before 1am local time for the president, Mr Trump confirmed he and his wife were both self-isolating at the White House.
“We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” he wrote.
Mr Trump is believed to have caught the virus from Hope Hicks, one of the president’s closest advisers who travelled on Air Force One with him from the presidential debate on Tuesday and to his Minnesota rally yesterday.
Everyone seems to have an opinion about the president’s diagnosis, who has long been accused of not taking coronavirus seriously.
A handful of world leaders have already reached out to the president.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished the Trumps a “quick recovery”.
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During the presidential debate on Tuesday, Mr Trump was asked whether he believed in the efficacy of masks, a question he used to mock his opposition Joe Biden.
“I wear masks when needed. I don’t wear masks like him,” Mr Trump said, motioning towards Mr Biden.
“Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”
That snide comment was quickly jumped on by Twitter after the president tested positive.
Others simply wished the president a speedy recovery with one labelling Mr Trump’s diagnosis a “nightmare” and “total failure” by the White House team.
Mr Trump, who is 74 years old, is at high risk of developing severe coronavirus symptoms due to his age.
Melania, who is 24 years younger than the president and not as high risk, said she and her husband were “feeling good”.
And of course there were plenty of reactions relating to bleach after the president seemed to suggest injecting the toxic chemical might have an effect on coronavirus.
Even Telstra decided to weigh in, making a joke about 5G after conspiracy theorists claimed coronavirus was spread by telecommunication towers transmitting 5G.