◆ Race for the White House upended; Biden tests negative after debate.
An already chaotic presidential campaign was thrown into even more confusing and volatile territory by President Donald Trump’s positive coronavirus test and hospitalization Friday, leaving the final month of the race unpredictable and the remaining debates in a state of uncertainty.
Trump, a president who thrives on rallies to energize supporters and communicate his unorthodox message, has been forced off the campaign trail for an unknown stretch. And as a candidate whose strategy centers on downplaying the disease, contracting it himself presents a daunting challenge.
Democrat Joe Biden faces his own delicate balance, as he pushes ahead with his campaign and continues in-person appearances while seeking to avoid appearing insensitive to the president’s condition. The Biden campaign is suspending its negative advertising aimed at Trump, according to a campaign official with knowledge of the move who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The two remaining presidential debates remained in limbo Friday, and the terms of Wednesday’s vice presidential faceoff in Utah were still being negotiated after the Biden campaign pushed for additional safety measures. Both Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Biden’s running mate, recently tested negative for the virus and plan to continue holding events.
Biden traveled to Grand Rapids, Mich., on Friday after testing negative for the virus earlier in the day, despite lingering questions about his exposure to Trump at Tuesday’s debate. He opened his remarks by saying he was “sending my prayers for the health and safety of the first lady and president of the United States after they tested positive for the coronavirus.”
He appeared to be sending a pointed message by leaving on his mask for the entirety of his remarks, instead of taking it off once he started speaking as he usually does.
“This is not a matter of politics,” Biden said of Trump’s diagnosis. “It’s a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously.”
Behind the scenes, both campaigns were struggling to adjust to the historically unprecedented event of a presidential candidate — let alone the incumbent — contracting a potentially deadly infectious disease just weeks before Election Day.
The coronavirus has been a central issue in the campaign, with Biden sharply criticizing Trump’s handling of the pandemic and Trump mocking Biden’s safety precautions. The president’s illness could undercut one of the central messages of his campaign.
“The campaign office remains open and our nationwide team will continue with our efforts to reelect President Trump,” Campaign manager Bill Stepien wrote in a memo to staff.
Stepien asked campaign workers who’d had contact with someone testing positive to immediately self-quarantine, and those without such contact to wear a mask, wash their hands and practice social distancing, guidelines that have long been applied unevenly by the Trump operation.
Trump campaign officials Friday were already discussing how he could appear in public safely, with some raising concerns about the financial impact of Trump’s inability to travel to fundraisers.
The president’s stump speech, meanwhile, had evolved to focus on the economy and the vacancy on the Supreme Court while giving a more hopeful message on the virus, an approach that may now be problematic. His allies were privately frustrated that the diagnosis would bring the worst story line for the president — his handling of the coronavirus — back to the fore.
On Wednesday, at a rally in Duluth, Minn., Trump had delivered his usual upbeat message. “We had the greatest economy in history and we had to close it down because we would have lost millions of lives,” he said. “Now we’re opening it up and we’re doing it at a level like nobody’s ever seen before, and it’s a great thing, and we’re going to be back in business very soon.”
After news of Trump’s diagnosis Friday, the Minnesota Department of Health urged anyone who had direct contact with Trump during his visit to self-quarantine and get a test five to seven days after the interaction, saying that also applied to anyone who attended the Duluth rally and developed symptoms.