On Oct. 3, 2020 President Donald Trump announced that he and the First Lady had tested positive for COVID-19. This shocking news came only a few days after the first presidential debate, where the president went head-to-head with Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Since then, Trump has been hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center, the White House has become a COVID-19 hotspot and polls continue to show increasing support for Biden.
The wildest week for this administration kicked off on Sept. 29 in Cleveland, Oh. It was the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden and a huge chance to sway American voters for the upcoming election this November.
However, the debate did anything but convince voters. A CNN poll showed 57 percent of undecided voters were still undecided after the debate.
It started by moderator Chris Wallace bringing up the recent controversy of filling the Supreme Court seat. Biden argued that Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination should not go through the Senate based on a precedent set by Republicans three years before. Trump contended that as president, he had the right to pick the Supreme Court nominee, saying “I’m not elected for three years, I’m elected for four years.”
An open discussion segment brought about the issue of healthcare and Roe v. Wade. “Your party wants to go socialist medicine,” Trump attacked, and Biden asserted, “Right now, I am the Democratic Party.” Trump then denied that Roe v. Wade may be on the ballot, as Biden had proclaimed, before they moved on to the next question.
For the second question, and for every question after, neither of the candidates had their full two minutes to answer. “Would you shut up, man?” said a frustrated Joe Biden, after the president kept pressing him on whether he would pack the Supreme Court if Amy Coney Barrett became a Justice. Later on, Trump berated, “Don’t ever use the word smart with me,” as the American people looked for bits and pieces to call a debate in what was a collapsing scene on the national stage.
A major moment in the debate was when the president was asked to condemn white supremacy. “Sure,” Trump replied, but when he was pressed to spell out the words, he said, “Stand back and stand by.”
Another significant moment was when the Democratic candidate asked Trump about the 750 USD he had allegedly paid in Federal income tax during his first year in office. The president denied this by saying he had paid millions of dollars, before bringing up an alleged 3.5 million USD that the mayor of Moscow had paid Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son.
In essence, the Trump campaign entered the debate with a clear strategy in mind: silence Biden. Former Gov. of New Jersey Chris Christie, one of Trump’s own debate advisors, called his performance “too hot.” Biden, on the other hand, seemed to show contradictions with previous statements he made to the media. For example, his own campaign website stated that he supported the Green New Deal, but when he was asked about it during the debate, he said, “That is not my plan.”
Just a few days after the hectic debate, Trump announced his positive COVID-19 diagnosis on Twitter. This came after a reporter leaked that Trump’s adviser Hope Hicks had the virus. Later in the day, he was transferred to Walter Reed as a “precautionary measure.” Since then, the American people have struggled to form a clear image of the president’s health condition.
Trump was given the antiviral drug remdesivir in the White House and continued his medication in Walter Reed. He had also received supplemental oxygen. However, the most questionable treatment he was given was the trial antibody cocktail produced by Regeneron. Professionals expressed worry over this decision by the White House physician.
The president’s physician Dr. Conley said the president was “doing very well.” Just a few moments later, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters that the president’s vital signs were “very concerning.”
During his stay at Walter Reed, an ever-increasing number of White House staff and members of the Republican Party tested positive for coronavirus. Some major names included Stephen Miller, Kayleigh McEnany, Chris Christie and Kellyanne Conway. There are still speculations on the exact timeline of the illness’s spread, but almost all the people that had tested positive had at some point attended the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett in the Rose Garden.
At this time, Joe Biden and Mike Pence have tested negative, the president is now back in the White House and the only vice-presidential debate took place in Utah.
In previous election years, October had always come with one surprise that usually turns the election over its head. This October, there are many to choose from, and we’re just two weeks in.
