Published 11:09 IST, October 21st 2020
Melania Trump drops out of first campaign appearance, cites COVID-19 recovery
Melania Trump, the first lady has cancelled her first campaign appearance since her COVID-19 diagnosis and will not accompany US President Donald Trump to Erie.
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Melania Trump, the first lady has cancelled her first campaign appearance since her COVID-19 diagnosis and will not accompany US President Donald Trump to Erie, Pennsylvania. Melania’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grosham has reportedly said that the first lady has been experiencing “lingering cough” and therefore, “out of an abundance of caution”, she dropped her travelling plans.
Remarkably, it would have also been Melania’s first in-person appearance at a campaign event in more than a year, other than August’s Republican National Convention speech at White House. In June 2019, the US first lady had joined her husband at the official reelection kick-off rally in Florida.
However, as much as the US President is attempting to downplay the severity of COVID-19 pandemic, the disease has continued to maintain a powerful presence in his everyday life. While Melania is recovering from COVID-19, the first couple’s 14-year-old son Barron had also contracted the novel coronavirus. Melania’s chief of staff assured that the first lady continues to feel better every day but still choosing not to attend the event out of precaution.
"Mrs. Trump continues to feel better every day following her recovery from Covid-19, but with a lingering cough, and out of an abundance of caution, she will not be travelling today," said Stephanie Grisham.
Trump says ‘people are tired’
The daily infections are on the rise and as per the Associated Press report, over 58,000 US citizens have been testing positive for the virus. Moreover, hundreds are dying each day but Trump recently said that people are “tired” of hearing about the pandemic.
Deepening the already existing rift between US President Donald Trump and nation’s most honoured infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci, in a campaign call on October 19, Trump said that people are “tired” of hearing about COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the disease has claimed the lives of more than 221,000 US citizens, Trump trashed Fauci as a “disaster” who has “been there for 500 years.” The frustrated and sometimes foul-mouthed US President, who himself had contracted the disease, even referred to Fauci along with other health officials as “idiots”.
11:10 IST, October 21st 2020