Despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 1 million people worldwide and over 212,800 in the United States — according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore — many Republican supporters of President Donald Trump continue to insist that the threat is being exaggerated by the mainstream media. Journalists Francisco Alvarado and Kelly Weill, in an article published in the Daily Beast on October 9, take a look at a Florida retirement community in which the pandemic was widely regarded as a Democratic hoax — that is, until Trump himself was hospitalized after testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. And now, some of the retirees are worried about a visit from Vice President Mike Pence.
This Saturday, October 10, Pence is scheduled to visit The Villages, a retirement community in Sumpter County, Florida. Pence, who debated former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, on October 7, has not tested positive for COVID-19. But Alvarado and Weill stress that in light of Trump’s illness, some of the retirees are afraid to be around Pence.
Chris Stanley, president of The Villages Democratic Club, told the Beast, “The virus was a hoax here until Trump got it. The other night, they did a prayer vigil — and for the first time, they posted in a big font, ‘You must wear a mask.’ I looked on the webcam and didn’t see many wearing masks, but they now seem to be accepting this is not a Democrat hoax at all.” Continue reading.