# Did Trump actually get COVID or was that whole thing a big scam or show? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [April 22, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054 "2023-04-22T16:28:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/1 "2023-04-22T16:28:46Z")
My wife and I still discuss this from time to time. That whole episode just seems too “perfect” and convenient (eg Trump the egocentric idiot gets covid, goes to hospital for a day or so, emerges like a Phoenix from the flames) to not be invented, contrived and stage managed. If someone wanted to concoct the perfect covid scenario, Trump’s would be close to ideal, as a means of demonstrating his all-powerful nature. Contrast with Boris Johnson’s covid experience. I’m just curious to see what your thoughts are about that? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/2 "2023-04-22T16:36:02Z")
No way would Loser Donald’s ego allow him to claim to be in anything less than perfect health unless it was obvious he was sick. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/3 "2023-04-22T16:36:24Z")
Yeah, no chance. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/4 "2023-04-22T16:41:40Z")
CNN has a (reverse) timeline: > **[A timeline of Trump’s battle with Covid-19](https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/10/politics/trump-covid-battle/)** > > After testing positive for the coronavirus, President Donald Trump spent three nights at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Here’s a day-by-day look at his condition. > ### Tuesday, October 6 > > The President was isolating in the White House residence, where temporary office facilities were set up adjacent to the building’s basement medical suite. Doctors were continuing to monitor his vital signs, and he was expected to receive an intravenous dose of the antiviral remdesivir on Tuesday night. > > At least three additional staff members, including senior adviser Stephen Miller, were revealed to have tested positive on Tuesday. [The atmosphere inside the White House](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-white-house/index.html) was described by one official as “chaotic,” largely because many people were working remotely and the President was calling the shots. The West Wing remained largely vacant. As @Smapti said, there’s no way his ego would allow that if he hadn’t really been sick. CNN also has a list of everyone in Trump’s inner circle who did and did not test positive: [https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/04/politics/trump-circle-covid-cases/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/04/politics/trump-circle-covid-cases/index.html) One thing Trump had which Johnson presumably did not: [ties with the CEO of the drug company which manufactured his treatment.](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/05/investing/trump-regeneron/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/5 "2023-04-22T16:53:37Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > there’s no way his ego would allow that if he hadn’t really been sick I guess it depends on how many layers of deceit he’s willing to descend through; to me it would be the perfect Trump scam (just my opinion/gut feel - not necessarily disagreeing btw). > [@Skywatcher](#): > > list of everyone in Trump’s inner circle who did and did not test positive I have to admit that I had completely forgotten about that particular aspect. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/6 "2023-04-22T16:55:02Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > That whole episode just seems too “perfect” and convenient (eg Trump the egocentric idiot gets covid, goes to hospital for a day or so, emerges like a Phoenix from the flames) to not be invented, contrived and stage managed. Trump can’t plan that far ahead or keep to a schedule for his perfidy even with guidance. This is a guy who has run multiple waterfront casinos into bankruptcy. If he were this smart, he’d have successfully managed his 06 January 2021 coup attempt instead of fumbling it like a character from a Farrelly Brothers movie. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/7 "2023-04-22T16:56:02Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > No way would Loser Donald’s ego allow him to claim to be in anything less than perfect health unless it was obvious he was sick. Yeah, the “perfect” episode (from Trump’s hagiographic point of view) is that everyone around him gets it, but he himself never gets more than a sniffle. The fact that he went to the hospital at all goes against his “I am a perfect specimen of health” talking point, and the broader republican “it’s no worse than a cold” talking point (but not their “it’s a super dangerous chinese bioweapon” talking point). ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/8 "2023-04-22T16:57:40Z")
I think it’s an interesting question, but I can’t really come up with another bullshit Trump story where he had to allow himself to look genuinely weakened in order to look strong in the end. The Perpetual Victim Gambit seems materially different to me. The notion that everybody is “very unfair” to him doesn’t show that he’s been/being harmed by the chimerical _slings and arrows of outrageous fortune_. It shows how they all bounce off his (virile, sinewy) chest. I have to call this myth busted 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/9 "2023-04-22T17:16:40Z")
Of course Trump got Covid. He did not protect himself. Given his fragile ego, what did he gain by appearing vulnerable? ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/10 "2023-04-22T17:18:06Z")
Full disclosure - at this point I have to agree with everyone so I’m not disagreeing, I’m just shooting the shit and venting a bit. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Trump can’t plan that far ahead or keep to a schedule for his perfidy even with guidance True enough. > [@DavidNRockies](#): > > allow himself to look genuinely weakened Except he never looked weakened (not that I recall TBH), so I’ll actually need a refresher on this. How did he get from the White House to the hospital? Gurney to helo to hospital, or waltz into limo to hospital and waltz in like me checking into a hotel on a business trip? I honestly don’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/11 "2023-04-22T17:22:08Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > No way would Loser Donald’s ego allow him to claim to be in anything less than perfect health unless it was obvious he was sick. And, even then, he downplayed it, and when he was released from the hospital, he insisted on walking back into the White House, and triumphantly pulling off his mask for the camera, to demonstrate his health and vigor. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/12 "2023-04-22T17:26:17Z")
I think walking from the White House to the helicopter told some of us that He Wasn’t Okay: > **[Timeline: What We Know Of President Trump's COVID-19 Diagnosis, Treatment](https://www.npr.org/sections/latest-updates-trump-covid-19-results/2020/10/03/919898777/timeline-what-we-know-of-president-trumps-covid-19-diagnosis)** > > President Trump first tweeted that he had tested positive for the coronavirus early Friday morning. But questions remain about what exactly happened before and after. Apparently, **[his O2 saturation](https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/07/politics/trump-covid-diagnosis-mark-meadows-book/index.html)** had dropped to 86% ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/13 "2023-04-22T17:37:26Z")
Thanks for that link btw. After reading it, for some reason the first thing that came to mind was “what a bunch of ass-holes” I hope to fuck we can escape from that crap. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/14 "2023-04-22T17:39:35Z")
Given his habits and those of the people around him, and given his general level of health, it’d be amazing if he hadn’t caught covid. I mean, when you go out and deliberately try to be infected by a disease, you’re probably going to succeed eventually. And given the level of resources he had at his command, it’d be at least remarkable if he didn’t recover well from it. Treatments like monoclonal antibodies work well, if you can afford them. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/15 "2023-04-22T18:00:24Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Smapti](#): > > > > No way would Loser Donald’s ego allow him to claim to be in anything less than perfect health unless it was obvious he was sick. > > And, even then, he downplayed it, and when he was released from the hospital, he insisted on walking back into the White House, and triumphantly pulling off his mask for the camera, to demonstrate his health and vigor. I watched his return to the White House live. He tackled those stairs like [Bonnie Grape](https://youtu.be/UsVlyLQbkic) without the cane. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/16 "2023-04-22T18:27:48Z")
And once he stood on the balcony and removed his mask, he was very obviously trying not to gasp for air. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/17 "2023-04-22T18:55:12Z")
Yes, trying to hide it, all in the name of QANON & MAGA ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/18 "2023-04-23T01:35:53Z")
According to reporter Maggie Haberman, Trump actually wanted to walk from the helicopter back to the White House and then open his shirt to reveal a Superman shirt underneath. > **[Haberman book: Trump wanted to wear Superman shirt after COVID hospital stay](https://www.axios.com/2022/10/03/trump-covid-superman-plan-maggie-haberman)** > > When Trump was about to be discharged after COVID treatment, he had an idea that he eventually abandoned. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/19 "2023-04-23T01:51:28Z")
Since Trump is the kind of person whom I wouldn’t believe if he said water was wet, my answer is: I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054/20 "2023-04-23T02:22:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > he kind of person whom I wouldn’t believe if he said water was wet, my answer is: I don’t know. Hear! Hear! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-trump-actually-get-covid-or-was-that-whole-thing-a-big-scam-or-show/983054.md?page=2)