Herman Cain dies of COVID

Was at prez’s Tulsa rally

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has died at the age of 74 after he was hospitalized with the coronavirus, his family confirmed Thursday.

“You’re never ready for the kind of news we are grappling with this morning. But we have no choice but to seek and find God’s strength and comfort to deal with it,” Cain’s family said in a statement published on his Web site. “Herman Cain — our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us — has passed away. He’s entering the presence of the Savior he’s served as an associate minister at Antioch Baptist Church in Atlanta for and preparing for his reward.”

The conservative businessman became ill after he contracted the coronavirus last month and was admitted to the hospital on July 1.

Cain (inset), former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, tested positive for COVID-19 after he attended President Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Okla., on June 20, where he was photographed in the stands without a mask.

In a lengthy tribute on Twitter, Trump paid tribute to an “American patriot” and shared a photo of the two shaking hands.

“He was a very special man, an American patriot, and great friend. I just got off the phone with his amazing wife, Gloria, daughter, Melanie, and son, Vincent, to express my deepest condolences to the entire family. @FLOTUS Melania and I loved Herman Cain, a great man. Herman, rest in peace!” he wrote.

Cain spent nearly a month on a ventilator in an Atlanta hospital.

In 2006, Cain was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and given a 30 percent chance of survival after it spread to his liver — but was declared cancer-free the following year.

Cain announced his presidential bid in 2011, running on a platform of tax reform, but was forced to suspend his campaign amid sexual-misconduct allegations, which he denied.

The Tennessee-born business executive joined conservative network Newsmax TV in April, where he hosted the weekend show “Herman Cain’s America.”