At the news of President Donald Trump’s and first lady Melania Trump’s positive COVID-19 diagnoses, right-wing actors and politicians went into overdrive testing out farcical conspiracy theories, blaming China and the Democrats, and attacking anyone who criticized the president.
Trump, who attempted to ridicule Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for regularly wearing a mask at Tuesday night’s presidential debate, seldom sports a mask in public and has turned a CDC public health guideline into a controversial issue in the United States by repeatedly undermining public health experts.
In May, Trump went against state guidelines by choosing not to wear a face mask as he toured a Ford facility in Michigan, telling reporters, “I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”
But despite the president’s rare mask wearing in public, Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch seemed to defend him against any such criticism, claiming that “no ‘Fauci standard’ studies exist that masks curtail spread of #coronavirus.” He also insisted that “Hydroxychloroquine is a safe drug” and that “The suppression of hydroxychloroquine is the worst public health scandal of the modern medical era,” despite evidence showing it is ineffective at treating COVID-19 patients and can be dangerous.
The suppression of hydroxychloroquine is the worst public health scandal of the modern medical era. And it continues. https://t.co/kNjnQOUcIR
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) October 2, 2020
Never one to pause from tweeting, Fitton appeared to suggest that Fauci, China, and the World Health Organization have been up to something nefarious:
Fauci China/WHO emails about #Coronavirus are being slow-rolled. Initial release this month but over 4,000 records need to be released pronto! @RealDonaldTrump https://t.co/c4qoLdr8KI
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) October 2, 2020
Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia was more blunt, blaming China and declaring that they must be held accountable.
Remember: China gave this virus to our President @realDonaldTrump and First Lady @FLOTUS.
WE MUST HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE.
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) October 2, 2020
Republican operative Ali Alexander (formerly Ali Akbar) also appeared to suggest that China was behind Trump’s diagnosis, calling it the “alien china virus,” before alleging that Trump contracting the virus was an attempted coup and that Mark Meadows and Jared Kushner must “not allow any contact tracing effort to go on within the White House.”
? I want to stress that it is important that Mark Meadows and Jared Kushner not allow any contact tracing effort to go on within the White House. It already failed.
No quarantining of anyone who don't test positive.
Do not take orders.
Give them.
Do not allow a second coup.
— Ali Alexander ? #JoeBidenIsSick (@ali) October 2, 2020
According to radical right-wing conspiracy theorist Chris McDonald, this may well have been the Democrats in an effort to cancel the next debate.
“Biden don’t want the debates, they didn’t want the second debate. Now, they’ve got a reason to not have the debates,” McDonald said on his “The McFiles” YouTube show. “You’re asking if Democrats spread the COVID-19, so he could get it, but I don’t know. Normally, I’d say no. I would think they would not do something as evil and wicked as that. But this bunch? I ain’t going to say they would, I don’t have any proof they did, but I will tell you this: I wouldn’t put it past them. I wouldn’t put it past them.”
Failed congressional candidate and right-wing conspiracy theorist DeAnna Lorraine, who accused Trump of taking his base for granted for wearing a mask in public in July, suggested that Trump had been intentionally infected by “the left,” perhaps through his debate microphone.
Mike Cernovich says the diagnosis was the “Best thing that could have happened to Trump” because “When he survives, he’s a hero” and “All oxygen belongs to him now.” He added that if Trump survives, he will win the presidential election in a landslide.
Nothing else matters anymore.
The lead character is in peril, the world watches.
The only issue now on the ballot – Will Trump survive?
If he does, landslide.
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) October 2, 2020
Others, like Tony Perkins of the anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council, prayed for Trump. Fitton, too, asked others to pray—in the same breath he accused Democrats of “evil glee.”
