President Trump COVID-19 Fake ‘Hoax’ & Wag the Dog Theories Hit Twitter

Some people on Twitter are convinced that President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis is a hoax, a wag the dog style bid to change the narrative after the president’s controversial debate performance, with the election just weeks away.

However, there’s no evidence that any hoax rumors are true. The proof we’ve gotten so far is a pair of tweets from the president and First Lady, but the president’s doctor also confirmed the diagnosis in a statement. Furthermore, it wouldn’t make much sense for Trump to choose a scenario where he would be off the campaign trail in the weeks before the election, as he has been holding big rallies again lately.

That hasn’t stopped people from spreading the COVID-19 hoax theory on social media. Kurt Braunohler wrote: “I’m stating it now, my fear is that he doesn’t actually have Covid. And in two weeks he’s going to come out and say ‘See, it’s no big deal!!’ Otherwise why would he tweet about it? So openly?”

He added: “Look I’m not happy about having this thought. It’s just that the man lies so much and only cares about himself. I hate that it’s the first place my mind went. The more I think about it, the more I think that he probably does have it. But that was my initial fear. I’LL LET IT STAND!”

Author Don Winslow wrote, “I will just say this…The timing of Trump’s positive test is very interesting and solves a number of immediate problems for him.” A man named Devin Jones responded, “He doesn’t have it. He’s lying for the millionth time. He wants three things: sympathy for having it, get out of the next debate because of ‘quarantine,’ and when he has no symptoms and recovers 100% he can say its 100% fake and/or not serious. People stop falling for this please.”

“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.

“As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together,” First Lady Melania Trump wrote on Twitter.

The president’s doctor, Sean Conley, wrote in a statement:

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. The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our country’s greatest medical professionals and institutions. Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any further developments.

According to CNN, Trump seemed fine when he was last seen in public on Thursday afternoon.

Some People Alleged That Trump Himself Once Called COVID-19 a ‘Hoax’ But Others Said They Think His COVID-19 Diagnosis Is a Hoax

COVID-19 after trump said its a hoax. #TrumpHasCovid pic.twitter.com/hNX6y57jpE

— walter (@walter_cruz99) October 2, 2020

Others brought up the old claim that Trump himself once called coronavirus a hoax.

Did he? Trump said this at a campaign rally:

Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. You know that, right? Coronavirus. They’re politicizing it. We did one of the great jobs, you say, ‘How’s President Trump doing?’, ‘Oh, nothing, nothing.’ They have no clue, they don’t have any clue. They can’t even count their votes in Iowa, they can’t even count. No, they can’t. They can’t count their votes. One of my people came up to me and said, ‘Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.’ That didn’t work out too well. They couldn’t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything, they tried it over and over, they’ve been doing it since he got in. It’s all turning, they lost. It’s all turning, think of it, think of it. And this is their new hoax. But you know we did something that’s been pretty amazing. We have 15 people in this massive country and because of the fact that we went early, we went early, we could have had a lot more than that.

News of the diagnosis broke in the early morning hours of October 2, and Melania Trump tweeted that the pair felt fine. Here are some more Twitter comments theorizing it's fake or a hoax: https://twitter.com/B_Franqui_3/status/1312021724490346497

Trump is 74 years old, which puts him in a higher risk category for coronavirus. In addition, Trump weighed 244 pounds in June and is 6 foot 3 inches tall. That technically classifies him as obese, and obesity is a risk factor for COVID-19. Melania Trump is 50 years old.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of deaths from COVID-19 increases with age. As of September 30, the latest date of the CDC chart, there have been 41,866 deaths of people age 65–74 years in the United States. More men have died of COVID-19 in that age range than women, according to CDC. That’s out of 194,091 deaths as of that date. That’s 22 percent of COVID-19 deaths.

People in the President’s Age Range Have a Chance of Dying That Is 90 Times Higher Than 18 to 29 Year Olds

CDC

Another CDC table lists conditions contributing to deaths involving coronavirus disease by age group. The conditions range from respiratory diseases to hypertensive disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease, among others.

The CDC also released a chart called “COVID-19 Hospitalization and Death by Age” that was last updated on August 18. It contains “rate ratios compared to 18-29 year olds” for each age range. For Trump’s age range, the rate ratio for hospitalization was 5x higher and for deaths it was 90x higher. About 85% of those who died of COVID-19 in the US were age 65 or higher.

CDC

Nature.com reported:

For every 1,000 people infected with the coronavirus who are under the age of 50, almost none will die. For people in their fifties and early sixties, about five will die — more men than women. …For every 1,000 people in their mid-seventies or older who are infected, around 116 will die

Trump previously “took a two-week course of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine,” despite controversies over that drug and took zinc and vitamin D, according to Web MD.

Trump’s aide Hope Hicks also came down with coronavirus first.

Trump previously tweeted that aide Hope “Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!”>

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