Trump’s brush with Covid may cost him re- election, says ex- ambassador
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s admission to hospital with coronavirus could cost him re- election, according to Britain’s former ambassador to Washington.
Lord Darroch, who resigned from his role in 2019 after emails were leaked in which he called the Trump administration “clumsy and inept”, said Mr Trump’s brush with Covid- 19 will remind American voters of how badly he has managed the pandemic.
He said that with US politics so polarised, the news of Mr Trump testing positive for the virus would focus the remaining weeks of the campaign on his handling of the crisis.
“I think it’s probably, just in sort of cold calculating terms of the election, it’s probably a very bad thing for the president,” Lord Darroch said.
“One because it keeps the virus – because he’s caught it – on the front pages and the lead story for at least another couple of weeks and maybe longer if that’s how long it takes to recover.
“He doesn’t want the narrative to be about coronavirus because the polls will tell you most Americans think he has not handled it well.”
Lord Darroch, who was speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival to promote his new book, Collateral Damage: Britain, America and Europe in the Age of Trump.
Meanwhile the President went through a “very concerning” period and faces a “critical” next two days in his fight against Covid- 19 at a military hospital, his chief of staff said.
Mark Meadows’ comments contrasted with a rosier assessment moments earlier by doctors treating Mr Trump, who were at pains not to reveal that he had received supplementary oxygen at the White House.
He doesn’t want the narrative to be about coronavirus. Lord Darroch, Britain’s former ambassador to Washington.