Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis guarantees this election will be about everything he has tried to avoid – CNN

Trump will now be forced to quarantine for two weeks, taking him off the campaign trail and likely forcing the rescheduling -- if not outright cancellation of, at least, the second presidential debate, which was set for October 15 in Miami, Florida. (The lone vice presidential debate is on the schedule for next Wednesday in Salt Lake City; Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for Covid-19 on Friday morning, according to his office.)That, in and of itself, is a major blow to a President who is a) trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in national and swing-state polling and b) views his campaign rallies -- large, raucous affairs -- as the lifeblood of not just his campaign but his presidency. Despite the ongoing virus threat, Trump had increased the frequency of his campaign travel over the last few months as he sought to reassure the country that fight against the virus was being won and that the time had come to move on to other issues -- most notably, according to Trump from the podium, the violent protests happening in cities around the country.

Trump has also actively flouted best practices when it comes to slowing the spread of the virus. Despite guidance from the CDC -- beginning in April -- that mask-wearing is one of the only (and best) ways to combat Covid-19's infectiousness, the President has not only expressed skepticism about the need to wear masks but has also mocked Biden for doing so.

Wallace: President Trump, you have begun to increasingly question the effectiveness of masks as a disease preventer. And in fact, recently you have cited the issue of -- of waiters touching their masks and touching plates. Are you questioning the efficacy of masks?

Trump: No, I think that masks are OK. You have to understand, if you look -- I mean, I have a mask right here. I put a mask on, you know, when I think I need it.

Tonight, as an example, everybody's had a test and you've had social distancing and all of the things that you have to, but --

Biden: Just like your rallies.

Trump: -- I wear masks when needed. When needed, I wear masks.

Wallace: OK, let me ask --

Trump: I don't have -- I don't wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from them and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen.

The practical impacts of Trump's diagnosis are serious. But the less-tangible impacts may be even more costly to a President who has banked his reelection on the idea that things are getting much, much better and doing so very, very quickly.

While Trump's behavior -- steady travel, lack of mask-wearing, exposure to lots and lots of people -- always made him more likely than the average person to contract the disease, the fact that he now has it will force a recalibration for many people. And that recalibration will center around this question: If the President of the United States can get Covid-19, what does that mean for my chances of getting it?

That uncertainty -- and the anxiety it causes -- is powerful. The virus, which has now been with us for the better part of six months, feels more real and more threatening for many Americans today than it has in many months. It's managed to sicken the most powerful and well-protected person in the country. How people react to the new-found freshness of the threat -- even if the threat remains roughly the same as it did prior to Trump's diagnosis -- is an X factor in the election, particularly given that we are less than five weeks away from the actual vote.

What we do know is that Trump's attempt to make these final weeks of the election about something other than the coronavirus failed the second he got his positive test back. Cable news will cover his illness -- and the people he came into contact with and whether they are also sick -- wall to wall for weeks. While Covid-19 was the lead story for most news outlets on most days for the last few months, it is likely to become the ONLY story for the foreseeable future.

In short: Everything Trump tried to avoid in the stretch run of the 2020 race is now coming to pass. And it's all because of him (and his positive test).

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Trump's coronavirus diagnosis guarantees this election will be about everything he has tried to avoid - CNN