Well well well, if it isn’t our old friend irony. After a year in which President Donald Trump publicly dismissed COVID-19 as something that was “going to disappear,” saying it “affects virtually nobody” and that it was a “hoax,” he and his wife Melania are now infected. This coming mere days after he mocked his presidential opponent for wearing a mask and after repeatedly holding rallies without proper safety procedures in place. It’d almost be funny… if we weren’t digging graves for 200,000 Americans (and counting!).
The world of Hollywood has, of course, been commenting on the diagnosis and the prevailing mood seems to be less sympathy and more “I told you so” with a sprinkling of “lmao.” Here’s just a selection of the responses:
In this difficult time let's be sure to show @realDonaldTrump the respect he's shown others.
— Danny Zuker (@DannyZuker) October 2, 2020
I have one word: Karma.
— Dan Jinks (@JinksDan) October 2, 2020
Eager to hear what President Trump's physician will say about his positive testing
Apparently his statement will be dictated to him shortly
A doctor friend of mine tells me that Covid19 symptoms include delusions of grandeur, compulsive attention-seeking, extreme narcissism…
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) October 2, 2020
…inability to tell fantasy from reality, obsessional thoughts about money, obesity, coarse behaviour, unpredictable outbursts of anger, inflated ego, wandering hands, short attention span, abusive language, compulsive lying, contempt for democracy, and cheating at golf
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) October 2, 2020
If anything positive can come him testing positive, it would be his followers reevaluating their opinions. If they will now accept a lockdown, social distancing & mandatory mask-wearing, we could crush the virus like we should have from the start. #ButIAlsoBelieveInTheToothFairy https://t.co/uh0Y5FF4A7
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) October 2, 2020
For someone who wasn’t taking the necessary precautions with masks and social distancing, it wasn’t a question of whether, it was a question of when.
America, please learn from the president’s experience. Please wear masks, and please maintain physical distances in public.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) October 2, 2020
Wear your mask when with others.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 2, 2020
This x 1000 https://t.co/qLhutnsFrn
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) October 2, 2020
He went to a fundraiser with his own supporters without a mask knowing he was exposed. I can’t get over it.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 2, 2020
“It is what it is…” https://t.co/b4Kjtucujy
— Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) October 2, 2020
I am very surprised by the twist ending of “2020: Episode 3” and I don’t see how they will be able to wrap this all up in one more episode.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) October 2, 2020
How fake is it now?
— Cary Elwes (@Cary_Elwes) October 2, 2020
But the most unfiltered response came from The Wire actor Dominic West, who was asked on British TV what his reactions to the diagnosis were and said:
https://twitter.com/RWACmedia/status/1311981418059309058?s=20
So, where do we go next? Right now, the fate of the free world lies in the immune system of an obese 74-year-old man who eats cheeseburgers all day, so who the heck knows? Even if Trump eventually recovers from COVID-19, this has thrown the 2020 Presidential election into total chaos (an upgrade from near-total chaos). The President will now not be able to make public appearances or speak at rallies until he’s given a clean bill of health, though this may be counterbalanced by an increased sympathy vote.
And if his prognosis worsens? Well, we can at least assume that the death of Donald Trump due to COVID-19 would likely go down in history as one of the great examples of schadenfreude. But at the very least, it’ll be interesting to see whether him having to personally deal with the virus he’s consistently belittled will change his stance (somehow I doubt it).
Buckle up folks, the next few weeks are going to be one heck of a ride.
Published: Oct 2, 2020 01:24 pm