There’s a lot of talk about U.S. President Donald Trump, who has tested positive for Covid-19, being treated at the hospital. The fact that elections will be held in America in less than a month makes these statements all the more important.
The contradictory statements about Trump's health condition are quite confusing. If a claim in the American media is to be believed, Trump caught Covid-19 before the announced date. If the claim is true, if Trump had truly hid his illness for a few days, this means that numerous people who had been in close contact with him might have contracted Covid-19.
As a matter of fact, White House Consultant Hope Hicks, Trump's campaign advisor Bill Stepien and Republican Party leader Ronna McDaniel, who had met with Trump days before it was announced he was infected with the virus, all tested positive for Covid-19.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that several people who had attended the reception Trump hosted at the White House on Sept. 26 for Amy Coney Barrett, whom he had nominated as Supreme Court judge, had also tested positive for the virus.
Republican senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis were among those caught the virus. The fact that the guests do not pay heed to social distancing rules and chat without wearing masks in the closed chambers of the White House increases the odds of coronavirus infecting hundreds of people. Some 150 names, notably the U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, attended the said reception. That's why the "Barrett Reception" is closely under inspection.
The fact that the top names of the U.S. administration do not comply with the rules of social distancing and mask wearing, an act of perceived disdain, disrupts the fight against the pandemic. However, those murmurs did not stop there. It is said that Trump contracting Covid-19 could jeopardize the presidential elections on Nov. 3.
For example, author Naomi Klein, who has spent her career exploring how moments of societal shock are exploited by the ruling elite, says she is afraid that Trump will use his Covid-19 diagnosis to further destabilize the elections.
Another controversy broke out regarding the question of what would happen if Trump's illness progressed. The United States is already in the middle of an election due to early voting in many states. If Trump's candidacy is in danger, "chaos" awaits the U.S. How the Republicans might decide on a new presidential candidate is still a mystery. The U.S. media has even gone as far as to debate who would take over the Presidency if both Trump and his vice president Mike Pence should die from Covid-19. One of the strongest possibilities is for the Democratic Speaker of the United States House of Representatives., Nancy Pelosi, to fill the seat.
An even more pressing problem is how Vice President Pence will fare if Trump is too sick to fulfill his Presidential duties. According to constitution, the President of the U.S. may in some cases delegate his position to the Vice President voluntarily. However, this period should be kept very short. What if the president is very sick, does not want to transfer his duty, or is even not in a position to transfer it? In this case, the Vice President and the majority of Cabinet members can sign a decision that the President is incapable of fulfilling his duties. Thus, the U.S. Vice President can assume the role of "deputy president".
The issue gets even more complicated if both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are both incapacitated. In such a case, there are those who argue that House Speaker Pelosi will be the "Deputy President". However, it is said that if the Secretary of State and the Attorney General act together, they can prevent the House Speaker from becoming Deputy President. In this scenario, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will act as Vice President. Among the other scenarios being discussed is what would happen if both Pelosi and Pompeo claim to be acting Presidents at the same time.
In the U.S., "General Covid" seems to have taken over the election process. Deconstructing the Constitutional system as well as the economy, the Covid-19 crisis further deepens by revealing these internal contradictions. No matter which way you choose to look at it, it is clear as day that the election process in the U.S. will be very painful and very tense.
