It is the Russians who are used to feeling sorry for the orphan, the poor and the sick; in the United States, Donald Trump's illness will not win him more votes, expert Yuri Rogulyov believes.
Donald Trump and his wife Melania wrote on their Twitter accounts that they were tested positive for COVID-19.
"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!," Trump wrote.
The family's attending physician, Sean Conley, announced that the President of the United States was feeling fine.
"The president and first lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence," Conley wrote. "Rest assured, I expect the president to continue to carry out his duties without interruption as long as he recovers," he said.
One of Trump's senior advisers, Hope Hicks, was also tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday. Even if Trump's COVID-19 test shows negative during the next 14 days, he will almost certainly fail to attend meetings in three key states - Wisconsin, Florida and Arizona, as well as at the next presidential debate, which is slated for October 15.
According to Business Insider, Trump's diagnosis and failure to conduct a safe campaign in key states threaten his re-election due to a lack of time. Given the current opinion polls that do not raise Trump's chances for victory in the above-mentioned wavering states, the president will not be able to compete with Joe Biden.
Yuri Rogulyov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, told Pravda.Ru that the illness of the President of the United States would rather play a negative than a positive one in Trump's election campaign.
"In Russia, we are used to feeling sorry for the poor, the orphaned, the sick. In the United States, vacillating voters will question the competence of the leader. Trump has already faced a lot of criticism for his actions during the pandemic that have taken the USA to where it is now with so many deaths and such high morbidity across the nation. Now that he is sick too, many uncertain voters will most likely turn their backs on Trump," the expert said.
The expert agreed that the US president would not be able to conduct his election campaign while in quarantine.
"Usually, three or four weeks before the election is an active part of the election campaign," Yuri Rogulyov said.
According to the US law, if Trump's illness becomes severe, his powers will be delivered to Vice President Mike Pence. If Pence becomes incapacitated, the country will be led by Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
As many as 2.2 million American voters have already cast their votes by mail in the US presidential election.