President Trump has the coronavirus or what does not kill you makes you stronger
Since others are already parsing the political implications of the mother of October surprises, allow me to do the same.
Barring an unhappy turn for the worse, President Trump is likely to emerge from this health crisis in about two weeks stronger than ever. One can just imagine the first words out of his mouth at the next MAGA rally. “I beat the China virus and I’m gonna beat Biden!” And the crowd goes wild.
The reaction to the news that the president and the first lady has the coronavirus can be divided into two types.
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and a number of others offered prayers for the President and the First Lady to make a speedy and complete recovery. This reaction speaks well of them, bespeaking the view that some people can be human beings more than they are political opponents.
The other category was, to put it bluntly, ghoulish. For example, from Never Trumper Amanda Carpenter.
“Let’s be very honest about what’s happening. Our nation’s commander-in-chief is presently in quarantine by way of his incompetence, paranoia, and denialism.”
The suggestion that Trump brought it on himself is the rough equivalent of blaming JFK for his own assassination because he refused to use the bulletproof bubble on the limo he took on his last ride through Dallas. It is not a good look and will likely backfire from the standpoint of the Trump haters.
What will be the real-world effects on the current presidential contest? One cannot but think it will garner something of a sympathy vote for President Trump. There is nothing like suffering a potential life-ending illness to humanize a man whom too many people think is inhuman. Trump will surely help himself if (when) he says that his experience has inspired him to redouble his efforts to place the pandemic on the ash heap of history.
If Trump pulls out a win in November, a lot of factors will go into it, including a superior ground game and a domestic and foreign policy record that looks pretty good on close examination. A personal health crisis could be the deciding factor that drives supporters to the polls and causes the few undecided who are left to pull the lever for the President.
Thus, history can turn on the totally unexpected.
Mark Whittington, who writes frequently about space and politics, has published a political study of space exploration entitled Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon? as well as The Moon, Mars and Beyond. He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner. He is published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Hill, USA Today, the LA Times, and the Washington Post, among other venues.
