Fox News’ pro-Trump hosts have spent months trying to bolster President Donald Trump’s reelection chances by downplaying the threat posed by the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. They mocked former Vice President Joe Biden for the precautions his presidential campaign has taken to protect him and others and valorized Trump for defying the public health community by refusing to do so. Now, the president himself has the virus. He revealed overnight that he and the first lady, Melania Trump, had tested positive for COVID-19, and the White House on Friday morning said he is experiencing “mild symptoms.”
Trump engaged in a series of risky behaviors before and after contracting the virus.
News of his diagnosis followed confirmation that Hope Hicks, one of his closest advisers, had tested positive, raising the possibility that he contracted it from her. White House officials “generally do not wear masks in deference to the president’s disdain for them,” according to The New York Times, eventhough Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has urged their use as “one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus.” Continue reading.