On, Saturday Oct 10, President Donald Trump made his first public appearance at The White House in front of a sizable crowd in the hundreds. While President Trump has been cleared by White House physician Dr. Sean P. Conley as no longer considered a transmission risk to others with improved symptoms, White House officials, however, have declined to answer when Trump last tested negative for the virus. With such a short time frame after diagnosis, some medical experts like are skeptical and feel “they’re really just pushing to get him out of isolation” and back to campaigning.”
Compared to other occasions Trump’s speech was much shorter compared to the general ninety minute baseline. Thus, the event itself didn’t carry much substance in the form of “policy proposals and instead delivered the usual attacks on Democrat Joe Biden while praising law enforcement to supporters” AP news reports. Also, one of the main goals seemed to be just presenting himself at full strength regardless if it was an act or not. It’s also fairly important to note that while most attendees were reported to wear masks during the event, even if Trump ripped his off at the start, social distancing practices weren’t followed as seen in the picture below. I wonder what kind of message and effect the whole event could "spread" to watchers. 
Trump removing his mask during his appearance
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| Crowd at the showing |
6 comments:
I believe that Trump was trying to make his recovery seem quicker than it really was in order to strengthen his image within his supporter base, since health is a very important thing that voters have to keep in mind before the 2020 election, which is in less than a month. I find it interesting however that Trump is more motivated with spreading hate for other candidates rather than trying to advertise his own beliefs and policies to potential voters, especially after getting COVID.
Thank you for sharing!
Based on the way things played out I believe that this was a huge victory for President Trump. I say this because he has been pushing for the reopening of many states saying that while covid is clearly a problem it is not that dangerous to many people. Now that he got COVID as a 70-year-old overweight man and survived, it plays into his narrative that COVID is survivable and should not stop the US from reopening. This is something that he and his supporters will continue to play on and use to their advantage.
I find it incredibly frustrating that the Trump administration has utilized this pandemic as a political statement when they should be looking out for the health and well being of the American people. Several news analysts predicted early on that if Trump survived the virus, he would utilize it to decrease public fear, a goal he had early on when first hearing about COVID in February. It feels incredibly shady that doctors have refused to conclude whether he has definitely tested negative; could this entire thing be a stunt for his campaign? Could he still be positive and spreading the virus among more people in government? We do know pictures of Trump in the hospital allegedly filling out paperwork was staged. Trump's portraying himself as stronger than the virus is incredibly dangerous in terms of public health. We already saw the social implications of him referring to the virus as the "China virus" when xenophobic attacks against Asians Americans skyrocketed. Holding a public event, WITHOUT A MASK, is irresponsible, dangerous, and honestly embarrassing to America because it presents our country as reckless and blind to science.
I agree with Ben; a presidential candidate’s health can affect the election as people would be afraid to choose someone who would be too ill to carry out his duties. As an example, when FDR ran for his fourth term, voters were concerned with his declining health and FDR had to reassure them that it would not affect his competence during his campaign. While Trump’s public appearance will help his campaign, a negative consequence, however, is that it appears he is downplaying the virus. Although his battle with the virus may seem easy, Trump was given experimental treatments that the general public would not have access to. With the rise in coronavirus cases in the United States, it is more important than ever for everyone to wear masks and practice social distancing. His actions, such as removing his mask, will help him politically but set bad examples for others.
I share Kayla's feelings of frustration. I had hoped that in contracting and recovering from the virus Trump might become more reasonable on his policy towards masks and on his general beliefs about the pandemic. There was also the possibility that Trump would appear to recover quickly and continue to downplay the pandemic, now with a personal recovery as "evidence" that COVID is nothing to be too worried about. Sadly, the second option is what seems to have happened. It's disappointing to see him giving public appearances without a mask so soon after his treatment, especially since it's not necessary to take off your mask to speak into a microphone
I share Kayla's feelings of frustration. I had hoped that in contracting and recovering from the virus Trump might become more reasonable on his policy towards masks and on his general beliefs about the pandemic. There was also the possibility that Trump would appear to recover quickly and continue to downplay the pandemic, now with a personal recovery as "evidence" that COVID is nothing to be too worried about. Sadly, the second option is what seems to have happened. It's disappointing to see him giving public appearances without a mask so soon after his treatment, especially since it's not necessary to take off your mask to speak into a microphone.
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