Election events with the participation of Donald Trump have been postponed or will be held online.

This was stated by the head of the Republican's campaign headquarters Bill Stepien.

“All previously announced events within the framework of the election campaign with the participation of the president are either transferred to a virtual regime or postponed.

In addition, previously announced events involving the president's family are also temporarily postponed.

All other events within the framework of the election campaign will be considered individually and will be reported in the coming days, ”the message says.

At the same time, it is specified that Vice President Mike Pence will continue to participate in the scheduled events.

At the same time, the press secretary of the White House, Kaylee Makinani, during a conversation with reporters, said that the next debate between the candidates would take place.

“He is participating in the elections.

He's working hard, we even have to hold him a little, ”Makinani told Fox News.

"Mild symptoms"

In turn, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said that Donald Trump is experiencing "mild" symptoms of coronavirus, but is in a good mood and continues to work.

So, according to the official, the president was interested in the progress of negotiations on the stimulus package for the US economy, which are going on in Congress.

“The president really has lungs

symptoms, and we are trying to ensure good health, safety and well-being, not only for him, but for the entire American people, ”Meadows said.

He said that the president "not only continues to be in a good mood, but also remains very energetic."

We will remind, Donald Trump wrote earlier on his Twitter that he and his wife Melania are infected with COVID-19. 

“The first lady and I tested positive for COVID-19 tonight.

We will quarantine immediately and begin recovery.

We will overcome this together! "

- said the president.

According to American media reports, Trump and his wife decided to take tests for coronavirus after the infection was found in the adviser to the President Hope Hicks.

She accompanied the president to debates with Joe Biden, as well as on a trip to meet with voters in Minnesota.

Note that because of his age - 75, the President of the United States is 74 years old - he is at risk due to possible complications.

White House physician Sean Conley said that the Trump couple are doing well and plan to stay in the White House during the recovery period.

“I want to assure you that I expect the President to continue to perform his duties without interruption during treatment,” Conley said in a statement released by the White House.

Soon after the news of Trump's illness, there were reports of testing of his inner circle - Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tested negative.

Public criticism

After the news that the head of the White House was infected with COVID-19, a number of representatives of the American political establishment, journalists and Hollywood actors criticized the president for his frivolity about the pandemic.

“He was unable to defend the country.

He couldn't even defend himself, ”attorney George Conway wrote on Twitter.

Recall that Trump at one time wanted to nominate him for the post of Solicitor General of the US Department of Justice, but then Conway found himself in opposition to the president.

  • Donald Trump and Joe Biden during the first presidential debate

  • Reuters

  • © Morry Gash / Pool

In turn, actor Bradley Whitford stressed that if we compare the two candidates for the presidency in light of their attitude to the coronavirus pandemic, the balance will tilt in the direction of Democrat Biden.

“If Donald Trump just admitted what science says, and if public safety cared as much as Joe Biden did, none of this would have happened.

This is done by those who are mentally out of order.

They create chaos.

Vote against him, ”Whitford urged.

A similar point of view was expressed by Mark Hamill, the performer of the role of Luke Skywalker in the fantasy saga "Star Wars".

He recalled that Trump and his supporters have long demonstrated disregard for security measures, and, in particular, for the mask regime.

“If a positive test result can lead to anything positive, it is to revise its own views by its supporters.

If now they recognize the need for isolation, social distancing and the mandatory wearing of masks, then we, perhaps, will be able to overcome this virus, as we should have been at first, ”the actor wrote.

If anything positive can come him testing positive, it would be his followers reevaluating their opinions.

If they will now accept a lockdown, social distancing & mandatory mask-wearing, we could crush the virus like we should have from the start.

#ButIAlsoBelieveInTheToothFairyhttps: //t.co/uh0Y5FF4A7

- Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) October 2, 2020

Amid reports that President Advisor Hope Hicks' illness became known the day before Trump's trip to New Jersey for a campaign fundraising event, some journalists suggested that White House officials and even Trump himself may have deliberately neglected preventive measures.

“I was informed that on Thursday morning a small group of officials already knew that Hope Hicks had tested positive.

Despite this, President Trump went to New Jersey for a fundraising event and his spokesperson gave a briefing, "CNN journalist Caitlan Collins wrote on Twitter.

"This is not a disaster"

Meanwhile, political analysts predict that Trump's illness could negatively affect his re-election campaign.

Analysts note that the incumbent head of the White House has been quite active in demonstrating that the coronavirus, as opposed to stopping the economy, is not a big problem.

“Now that he himself is under the blow of this disease, he will be excluded from the election campaign for at least a week.

If the disease causes complications, then he will drop out of the race for a long time.

Moreover, it will be possible to replace Trump only in case of the most unfavorable outcome of the disease.

In this case, the Republicans will definitely lose the election, since not a single new candidate, not even Pence, will have time to unwind and prove to the voter that he is capable of being president, "Andrei, head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, explained in a conversation with RT. Sidorov.

  • Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden

  • Reuters

  • © Brendan McDermid

He added that now Biden, who spent most of his election campaign in isolation in Delaware, will be able to play this card in the upcoming debate, emphasizing that his tactics in dealing with the disease were correct.

“For some voters, the fact that Trump, as president, underestimated the scale of the threat would be a weighty argument.

This can be regarded as insufficient competence and, therefore, the electorate may well come to the conclusion that it is not capable of leading the state for a second term, ”the expert suggested.

After the news of Trump's infection, the American media reported that his opponent in the presidential race also decided to pass the test.

The former US Vice President and Democratic candidate is also at risk of age - turning 78 in November.

CNN TV channel, citing a high-ranking official of Biden's election campaign, reported that there were no warnings from Trump's headquarters or the White House about a possible threat of infection.

At the same time, the source noted that Biden's entourage did not believe that such a risk was present, since Trump and Biden were not nearby during the debate.

At the same time, it is reported that the Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris was tested for coronavirus on October 1, with a negative result.

On October 8, she will debate with her opponent Mike Pence.

Earlier in the debate, Biden had already accused Trump of being responsible for the high death rate from coronavirus in the United States as president, saying that the head of state did not have a plan to combat the spread of the disease.

In turn, Trump retorted that if a former vice president were in his place, the death toll from the disease would go to the millions.

At the same time, the director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, Yuri Rogulyov, in a conversation with RT, noted that Trump's illness is unlikely to affect his popularity among the "nuclear" electorate of the Republican Party, but will give an additional reason for his criticism from the Democrats.

“Trump's voter who is loyal to him will pity him and, accordingly, will not leave him.

At the same time, his illness will negatively affect the desire of part of the hesitant electorate to vote for him, since the question arises about his competence.

Now the Democrats, in particular Biden, received an additional argument that Trump could not only protect the country from the coronavirus, but even himself, ”Rogulyov noted.

In turn, Konstantin Blokhin, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that the news of the Republican president's illness will not do much damage to his election campaign.

“This is not a disaster, Trump is not the only world leader to have contracted the coronavirus.

It will take a couple of weeks for his recovery, after which he will continue to actively pursue his election campaign.

The next debate is likely to take place in an online format, which partly plays into the hands of Biden, who loves to discuss through various messengers.

Undoubtedly, Democrats will use this situation to criticize Trump.

However, this will not affect the balance of power in a special way, since the majority of voters have already decided, and the struggle for the hesitant will soon be continued, "Blokhin concluded.