Trump promises ‘Big Crowds’ as he heads to Florida to campaign amid COVID-19 spikes
Ready or not, here he comes.
Fresh off an unusually short bout with COVID-19, which he insists is in the past, President Trump is headed to the Sunshine State.
“Leaving now for Florida Rally,” Trump tweeted late Monday afternoon. “Big crowds!”
Trailing in polls by double-digits, the president is en route to the swing state he all but has to carry to win a second term in office.
Not only is Florida the third most populous state; it also casts 29 electoral votes, which is the same as New York state. Only California and Texas have more. Florida was crucial in the 74-year-old Queen’s native’s 2016 win over Hillary Clinton. Despite spending most of his time in Washington D.C., it’s also the state he’s been calling home for nearly a year.
The president claimed Oct. 2 that he’d tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalized later that day. The infection is not known to take hold that quickly and Trump’s physicians have raised doubt about the president’s health through misleading and incomplete press briefings. It’s still not known how when or where the president was infected.
His White House doctor said over the weekend that the president is no longer a contagion risk, though medical experts remain skeptical. A tweet from Trump claiming he was immune from COVID-19 was flagged by Twitter Sunday.
“A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday,” he wrote. “That means I can’t get it (immune), and can’t give it. Very nice to know!!!”
The president reportedly considered wearing a Superman tee-shirt when he left Walter Reed hospital last week following treatment for COVID-19.
Social distancing rules are frequently ignored at Trump rallies, where attendees often decline to wear masks that limit the spread of the disease that has killed 215,000 Americans, including more than 15,000 Floridians.
Florida reported 5,500 new infections Sunday and another 1,500 Monday.
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