Last week, President Trump announced via Twitter he had tested positive for the virus.
The President refused to follow most basic safety precautions. He continued to hold large, indoor, maskless events and fostered a culture of violent opposition to masks and social distancing among his fans.
After spending a weekend at Walter Reed Medical Center, receiving experimental medications and supplemental oxygen, Trump was transferred to the state of the art medical suite at the White House.
Though the President is not yet "out of the woods" according to doctors, his allies began to say Donald Trump defeated the virus. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, an adviser to the President, compared Trump to a first responder.
Speaking to The Daily Beast on Monday, Gingrich said:
"He's become sort of a first responder."
"He has lived through it and been in the hospital."
"And he's fearless."
"We are not the land of the timid and the home of the scaredy cats."
Gingrich's statement failed to sway anyone not already on the Trump train.
Trump's team repeatedly ignored the safety advice of their own health experts which likely resulted in the President's infection.
Comparing his almost inevitable infection created by poor choices to the courageous choices made by first responders struck people as transparently manipulative and insulting.
Gingrich's statement seems to be part of a larger strategy by President Trump's team to use his illness to his advantage.
The Daily Beast reported on Trump "scheming" while in the hospital:
"The President repeatedly claimed that once he recovers from the [virus]—for which first lady Melania Trump, his campaign manager, debate sparring partner, press secretary, and other aides also tested positive—he'll be able to present himself as a conqueror of it, both personally and politically."
Twitter was not convinced they should vote for Trump because he was reckless enough to expose himself to the virus.
Many felt that Republicans were playing the only card they had, considering the staggering number of American deaths caused by the pandemic.
If the President finally learned something from contracting the virus, it might make some difference in the election.
But his tweet urging supporters not to "be scared," seemed to indicate he will continue to downplay the threat of infection and the deadly and debilitating nature of the disease.
Newt Gingrich might think of President Trump as a "first responder," but anyone who's ever encountered an actual first responder knows the President failed to live up to that standard of concern for the well-being of others before self.
