How sick is the president?
 | By Jyoti Thottam Deputy Op-Ed Editor |
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On Friday morning, President Trump became, for a moment, a person just like any other. His diagnosis means that he is now one of the at least 35 million people around the world, including 7.4 million in the United States, who have been infected by the coronavirus. In that sense, he is simply a patient, one whose age and weight pose extra risks for him as he goes through treatment. |
In every other way, Mr. Trump’s situation is an extraordinary one, and my colleagues in Opinion have spent the past three days weighing the political, social and moral implications. As Maureen Dowd put it, “it was undeniable that reality was crashing in on the former reality star.” Nick Kristof hopes the president’s case will shake Americans out of a creeping complacency about the pandemic. “We are all becoming more lax,” he wrote, “particularly in parts of the country where the virus never hit hard.” |
Ross Douthat read the diagnosis as a morality play: “His illness just seems to emphasize that we’re inside the falling action of the play, the working out of choices and themes that were established months ago.” And Farhad Manjoo explained how the wearing of masks, once “culturally benign” objects, have become tribal markers. |
Given the millions of people whose lives are now dedicated to fighting this virus, it is easy to forget that less than a year ago, it was completely unknown. Doctors and scientists are still trying to understand Covid-19, and with so much uncertainty remaining until the election, it is particularly disheartening that the news from the White House over the weekend has been a jumble of contradiction and misdirection. |
The Times editorial board has called for more transparency, and an end to the confusion about the president’s health. “However sick the president may be, the truth cannot be more harmful than the thick fog of confusion and chaos the White House has created,” they write. I encourage you to read it and follow our report in the coming days as this story continues to evolve. |
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