Trump’s recklessness as he recovers from COVID endangers all around him

While reading Patrick Reardon’s column “Why I feel solidarity with Donald Trump (It’s not what you think),” l couldn’t help but conclude that he built a strong case for taking steps to recover from a challenging physical liability.

As he recovered from two knee replacements, I faced a similar challenge with open-heart surgery. I understand what it is to fight to recover and what must be overcome to do so.

The problem, however, is the flawed argument comparing our surgeries to President Trump’s ailment. It is not only a grave understatement that Trump is being reckless as he recovers, it is a dangerous one as well. During Reardon’s recovery from knee surgery, he did not put anyone else at risk. And no one would require heart surgery from coming into contact with me. Yet the president made a show of standing on the balcony of the White House while still contagious. He took off his mask, knowing full well that the virus was still spreading among White House employees.

I would ask Reardon: If you contracted COVID-19, would you, as the president has done, continue to refuse to wear a mask and prevent possibly infecting others? Even with mild cases of the virus, there still may be long-term organ damage as a result of exposure.

So long as people continue the stance that “I am not afraid of this virus,” or “I can beat this virus” we are never going to defeat it. It’s not just the individual, it’s also their family, their friends, their co-workers, their neighbors. Until we change this attitude, the virus will continue to spread and Americans will continue to die.

Daniel Pupo, Orland Park