Shock, sympathy and schadenfreude amid a polarised response

BORIS JOHNSON sent a personal text message to Donald and Melania Trump yesterday, revealing that the couple had been “very kind” when he and his partner, Carrie Symonds, had coronavirus themselves. The Prime Minister told The Daily Telegraph that he was confident that the US president would stage a “very strong recovery”. “I sent him a message just now and to Melania on

behalf of me and Carrie because they were very kind to us when we were both ill,” he said.

Mr Johnson, who spent four days in intensive care when he was struck down by Covid-19 in April, was among several world leaders to wish Mr Trump and the First Lady “a speedy recovery”, sending his best wishes on Twitter.

However, the global response to the US president’s diagnosis was polarised.

The news prompted shock and sympathy but also undisguised glee, with Chinese state media suggesting he had “paid the price” for his Covid-19 policies. The schadenfreude was led by Zara Rahim, a former spokeswoman for Hillary Clinton, who said she “hopes he dies”. In a now- deleted tweet, Ms

Rahim, who also worked in the Obama administration, said: “It’s been against my moral identity to tweet this for the last four years, but I hope he dies.” Some Left-leaning figures apparently revelled in the news.

Dominic West, the Bafta winning star of The Wire and The Affair, told Good

Morning Britain: “What goes around, comes around.” He added: “I did slightly leap in the air with joy.”

Asked to clarify his comments, West said: “Well, there’s an element of schadenfreude, I suppose.”

China Daily, China’s official English language paper, said: “Since it emerged earlier this year, Trump, the White House and his campaign have played down the threat and refused to abide by basic public health guidelines – including those issued by his own administration – such as wearing masks in public and practising social distancing.”

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of China’s Global Times, said Mr and Mrs Trump had “paid the price” for his “gamble” to play down the severity of coronavirus,

warning that it would throw a cloak of negativity around his i mage and chances of re-election.

Leaders who sent warmer wishes included Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, who sent Trump a telegram saying: “I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus.”

Yuriko Koike, the Tokyo governor, said the news “reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan”.

Mr Trump joins a growing list of world leaders who have caught Covid.

Some have claimed that the swift recovery by Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president, may have proved beneficial politically and strengthened his image as a “superhuman messiah”.

Zara Rahim @Zararahim It’s been against my moral authority to tweet this for the past four years, but, I hope he dies