What they thought

£This demonstrates that the virus spares noone, including those who have shown scepticism. I wish him a swift recovery. — Gabriel Attal, France’s government

spokesman

£All of us want to send our best wishes to President Trump, the First Lady and the Trump family and wish them a speedy recovery . . . we all want to see him and his wife get better soon. In the US they’ve got a very clear protocol, haven’t they, with the vicepresident, should that be necessary.

— UK Housing Minister Robert Jenrick

£President Trump and the First Lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the Covid19. The news shows the severity of the US’ pandemic situation. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection. — Hu Xijin, editor in chief of China’s

Global Times

£President Tsai, upon receiving the news, sent her best wishes to the US Government via diplomatic channels, hoping that President Trump and his wife can recover at an early date under the professional care of the medical team. — Taiwan Presidential Office

spokesman

£My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery.

— WHO directorgeneral Tedros

Adhanom Ghebreyeusus

£Trump has been trailing behind Biden and he has clearly failed to narrow the gap after the first debate, which is the most important of the three debates. I suspect markets will lean towards the view that Biden will likely win the election.

What I worry about is that he will become even more aggressive against China after he caught the virus himself. — Naoya Oshikubo, of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management

— Reuters