President Donald Trump’s disclosure that he had been infected by the coronavirus sent a shudder around the world on Friday, drawing sympathy from leaders who have grappled with the pandemic in their own countries and more pointed responses from critics who noted Trump’s own cavalier handling of the threat.
Trump is not the first world leader to be infected. Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil both tested positive. Johnson ended up in an intensive-care unit where, he said later, “things could have gone either way”.
But Trump, 74, is older and at higher risk than either of those men. And the news of a US President contracting a potentially lethal virus carried global repercussions beyond that of any other world leader. Financial markets fell in Asia and looked set to open lower in Europe and the US.
Expressions of concern and good wishes for Trump’s speedy recovery — as well as that of the first lady, Melania Trump, who was also infected — poured in from leaders in Russia, India, Britain and other countries.
“My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady,” Johnson said on Twitter, making no mention of his own bout with Covid-19. “Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.”
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said he hoped Trump would have a “swift recovery,” according to the Interfax news agency. In a telegram to the President, Putin added: “I am certain that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus.”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Wishing my friend POTUS #realDonaldTrump and FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health.”
Some commentators noted that it was a grim reminder of a virus that does not distinguish between rich and poor, weak and powerful. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction tweeted: “Nobody is immune from #COVID19.”
In Myanmar, a Baptist minister who met with Trump in the Oval Office last year and told him about oppression and torture by the military, said having Covid-19 could help the President better understand the pain of others. “There are many critics of Trump regarding Covid-19,” said the minister, Hkalam Samson. “Now, he is suffering himself and he should be compassionate for his people by now.”
Wang Huiyao, the founder and president of the Centre for China and Globalisation, an influential research group in Beijing, said: “When the President of the United States, the most powerful person in the world, can catch this, the virus has no boundaries.”
Wang said the President’s positive test result might become a global reminder of the value of wearing face masks.
Others suggested a degree of justice in his diagnosis, given Trump’s record of diminishing the threat of the virus, refusing simple precautions like wearing a mask and running risks like holding campaign rallies with little to no social distancing.
For allies and adversaries alike, the immediate concerns involved security as the world’s most powerful nation confronted the potential incapacitation of its commander-in-chief. The US has a well-established chain of succession if the President is unable to fulfil his duties.
Some said the major worry was not about continuity of government — given the depth of contingency planning in the US— but how the President would react to enforced confinement and the spectre of illness.
New York Times News Service
