On October 2, President Trump revealed that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus, escalating the nation’s concern for COVID-19, which has already caused over 223,000 deaths in the United States. It is not known when exactly the president contracted the virus as there have been conflicting reports regarding when he was diagnosed and treated. However, the President and the White House have not been truthful about the President’s health, in many instances dodging questions about it or spreading misinformation. As citizens of America, the public is entitled to know the truth about the state of the President’s health and the truth about the dangers of COVID-19.

Trump has stated that he no longer has COVID-19 and that he is immune to the virus in his Twitter statement, “A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday. That means I can’t get it (immune), and can’t give it. Very nice to know!!!” After posting this statement, he received a warning from Twitter for violating the platform’s rules about “spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19.” Before this, he had also tweeted while still at a military hospital, “Don’t be afraid of COVID. Don’t let it dominate your life.” Once again, Trump is downplaying the coronavirus and spreading misinformation in order to create a false illusion for the American people. Additionally, although Trump has said that he no longer has COVID-19, the White House refuses to answer questions about whether the President has tested negative for the disease. The most logical explanation for the White House’s evasion of these questions is that Trump is not being fully transparent about his health. 

Secondly, Trump has been making reckless decisions about treatments for COVID-19. Trump was reportedly given an experimental cocktail of monoclonal antibodies produced by Regeneron, a pharmaceutical company. After this cocktail was given, Trump reported, “Within a very short period of time, they gave me Regeneron, and it was like, unbelievable, I felt good immediately.” He then stated, “I want everybody to be given the same treatment as your president. I have emergency-use authorization all set, and we’ve got to get it signed now.” The experimental cocktail given to Trump has only been tested by a few hundred people, and the product has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Regardless, Trump is recklessly attempting to prescribe this possibly unreliable drug to our entire nation. 

In addition, Trump is continuing to plan large-scale campaign gatherings, without any social distancing precautions, disregarding the thousands of Americans that have been infected by the coronavirus — including himself — and endangering countless people.

During this unprecedented time, we, the American people, need the truth from the President and government. By creating false illusions in an attempt to comfort the public of the coronavirus, the President is instead endangering us even more. And, by not knowing the state of the President’s health, we become even more uncertain about our nation’s leadership.