Nation Divided Over President Trump's COVID-19 Diagnosis
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The president's coronavirus diagnosis comes at an explosive time politically. With an election and Supreme Court nomination on the line, emotions are running high.
"All of those things charge the atmosphere with explosive particles and there aren't a lot of calming voices around," said CBS senior political analyst John Dickerson.
But many are calling for cooler heads to prevail and hoping the president's infection might help bring the country together.
"I don't blame people for people being angry, especially people that have been directly affected by COVID or have had family members die," said Kendra Mackey, who lives in Sacramento.
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Dickerson said it will be up to the president's staff to keep the country informed of his condition.
"One good thing about this has been a re-assertion of bipartisan care for the president," he said.
Former President Barack Obama tweeted Friday, "while there's a lot at stake, let's remember we're all Americans. We're all human beings. And want everyone to be healthy no matter our party."
Obviously, we're in the midst of a big political battle right now, and while there's a lot at stake, let's remember that we're all Americans. We're all human beings. And we want everyone to be healthy, no matter our party.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 2, 2020
Democratic senator and former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren wished the president a speedy recovery but criticized him for mocking people for wearing masks and holding "super spreader events."
"I just thought he was ill-advised going around and not wearing a mask and making fun of Joe Biden," said Franklin Cole, a Sacramento resident.
The president has said he thinks he's doing very well and tweeted Thursday that we're all in this together.