World reacts to Trump infection
Shock, sympathy, mockery and uncertainty over US president’s Covid-19 diagnosis
NEWS that the world’s most powerful man was infected with the novel coronavius drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity surrounding everything about US President Donald Trump.
Trump’s announcement yesterday, on Twitter, that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and the deep uncertainty that accompanied it, flashed across screens large and small, upending countless plans and sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands looking to weigh in on social media.
Trump said in a tweet: “@FLOTUS and I tested positive for Covid-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get though this together.”
On Thursday Trump announced that he was beginning quarantine after Hope Hicks, a top adviser and trusted aide, tested positive for the coronavirus. Hicks travels regularly with the president on Air Force One and, along with other senior aides, accompanied him to Ohio for the presidential debate on Tuesday and to Minnesota for a campaign event on Wednesday.
“I spend a lot of time with Hope, and so does the First Lady,” he said.
Trump has come under sharp criticism for his response to Covid-19 that has killed more than 200000 people in the US and more than 1 million worldwide.
The positive test reading for the leader of the world’s largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors’ worries, especially about its effect on the November 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. US stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.
World leaders were quick to weigh in, with official sympathy from the top and something approaching schadenfreude elsewhere. Trump joins a growing list of the powerful who have contracted the virus, including many who were skeptical of the disease.
“I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus,” Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in a direct message to Trump released by the Kremlin.
Italian right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini tweeted: “In Italy and in the world, whoever celebrates the illness of a man or of a woman, and who comes to wish the death of a neighbor, confirms what he is: An idiot without soul. A hug to Melania and Donald. ”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalised for a week in April after he contracted Covid-19, wished Trump a “speedy recovery”.
Media across the globe played up the announcement, with bulletins crawling across screens in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Dubai and Beijing.
There was no immediate government comment from China yesterday, the second day of an eight-day national holiday. However, the positive test result for Trump was the most searched topic in China on the widely used social media app Weibo a few hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.
One user joked that Trump had finally tweeted something positive.
Iranian state television announced Trump had the virus, an anchor breaking the news with an unflattering image of the US president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses. Us-iran ties have suffered since Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions. | AP