With the Corona virus deaths of Americans reaching nearly 215,000, and the infection of nearly 8 million others, the issue of this virus and how to confront it has become the top issue of concern to the American voter four weeks before the date of the presidential elections.
Al Jazeera Net monitored the stages of President Donald Trump's handling of the Corona pandemic, from its inception until his personal infection with the virus, along with the first lady and many high-ranking employees in the White House.
The first stage: denial and interest in other issues
After China informed the World Health Organization in the last days of 2019 of the existence of the Corona virus, President Trump received on January 3 a detailed report from the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Gina Haspel, talking about the risks of the virus.
On the same day, Trump made a decision to liquidate General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Al-Quds Brigades, and turned his focus completely to the possibilities of military escalation with Tehran.
During this period, Trump has focused on the attempt to impeach him in Congress, an attempt that officially failed on February 5.
During that time, Trump said, "I am not at all worried about the possibility of an epidemic, we only have one case of someone who came from China. It will be fine."
On January 31, a task force was formed at the White House to deal with the spread of the Corona virus, and then Trump announced the cessation of flying to and from China.
Stage Two: Everything is under control
The White House realized the risks were imminent, as President Trump continued to say that "everything is under control" and the risks to his country are few.
During Trump's speech at a campaign conference in New Hampshire, he stated that "by April, with the start of the heat getting warm, the virus will disappear."
"The spread of the virus locally is not inevitable," he said in a tweet before the end of February.
And at the end of February, Trump stopped flying to and from Europe, then during his visit to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, he claimed, "The availability of Corona virus detection tests for any American citizen who wishes to do so, we have large numbers of them." These words contradicted reality completely.
Trump tweeted on March 9, saying that "the fake media and Democrats are doing all they have to redouble fears of the Corona virus, at a time when experts confirm that the risks of the virus are very small for American citizens."
The third stage: a hidden enemy like no other
In the second week of March, schools began to be suspended, businesses closed, factories stopped working after the virus spread in many states, and the Wall Street stock market collapsed, and stock indices lost 35% of their value within a few days.
On March 13, Trump declared a nationwide state of emergency, then called on Americans "to stay in their homes for two weeks, and to follow social distancing rules to prevent the spread of the virus."
Trump presented himself as a head of state at war against what he described as an invisible enemy, before adding during his frequent appearances at the White House press conference, "I see myself - somehow - as president in a time of war, we are fighting a war, which is a very, very difficult position."
Trump tweeted preparing for the reopening of the business sector and the return of workers and employees to their offices and factories by the Easter holidays on April 12, saying, "The cure cannot be worse than the disease. I want to return and end the closure by Easter, why don't I imagine we can effectively do this."
Then Trump signed the Congressional legislation to provide the largest economic aid package in American history, the amount of 3.3 trillion dollars directed to the states, the private sector, airlines, hotels and citizens who earn less than 75 thousand dollars annually.
On April 10, Trump spoke proudly, flaunting the efforts of his administration in fighting the virus, and said that the total number of deaths may reach less than 100,000 cases, "which will be a great success for our policy."
However, things then went upward in a direction other than that which Trump liked.
Trump refused to wear the masks recommended by all public health experts, including the White House crisis response team.
Fourth stage: searching for a scapegoat
During the summer and early fall months, President Trump repeatedly blamed various parties and held them responsible for the spread of the virus.
So he began to blame China, and called Corona the "Chinese virus", and blamed Beijing for its cover-up and trying to deceive the world about the truth of the virus and its spread.
Then he went to blame previous administrations, especially the administration of his predecessor Barack Obama, for America's human and financial losses due to the consequences of the Corona virus, and repeated that he inherited "empty shelves and stores of necessary medical supplies from the Obama administration, and what the previous administration left did not allow the necessary tests to be conducted for all Americans." .
State governors - especially Democrats among them - were the last to be accused by Trump for "failing to fulfill their duties" and early preparation to face the consequences of the Corona virus, and the governors of New York State (Andrew Como) and Michigan State (Gretchen Whitmar) received the lion's share of these criticisms, and demanded them. Not to politicize the Corona issue in the service of narrow political goals.
Fifth stage: providing prescriptions for treatment
Trump provided medical prescriptions to counter the virus, as he suggested that two drugs be used, hydroxychloroquine, used to treat malaria, and Avigan, which is produced by the Japanese company Fuji and is also used to fight malaria, during his daily press conferences inside the White House on developments in the spread of the Corona virus and ways to confront it.
And the US Food and Drug Administration refused to approve any drug to counter the Corona virus without undergoing the necessary clinical trials that take long periods.
She emphasized that the drug hydroxychloroquine has very serious side effects, and it is not permissible to use it at all before referring to the doctor supervising the patient.
After that, American pharmaceutical companies decided not to announce any vaccine against the Corona virus before subjecting it - strictly - to safety and efficacy standards.
Sixth stage: vaccination before the November 3rd elections
Since mid-August, the US President has repeated that the American laboratories will provide an effective vaccine against the Corona virus, which contradicts what the responsible government medical authorities have stated.
Trump confirmed in a White House press conference that the vaccine may come to light and start distributing it to states before the presidential elections on November 3.
The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield responded to what Trump was saying, by saying to Congress, "The vaccine will not be widely available to citizens until the next spring or summer."
Seventh stage: The virus infects the president
Trump surprised the Americans and the world in the early hours of October 2 by announcing that he had been infected with the Coronavirus, and his administration did not reveal when, where, and how the infection was transmitted to the president.
Trump stayed at Walter Reed Military Center for 3 nights, did not stop tweeting and posting videos, and went out to greet his supporters gathered outside the gates of the medical center.
Trump returned to the White House in a helicopter in a distinct election scene, in which he sent messages to his electoral bases confirming that he is a strong man and that he is overcoming the Corona virus.
The protocol announced by the government health authorities indicates that a person with corona must undergo a 14-day quarantine period at home, but it is not clear whether Trump can commit to staying inside the White House for two full weeks, with only 4 weeks remaining until the elections.