ROANOKE, Va. – The 2020 presidential campaign took another unexpected turn on Friday with President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis. However, 10 News political analyst Dr. Ed Lynch believes it may not have a large effect on where the candidates stand.
Lynch equates Trump’s diagnosis to when Richard Nixon became ill during his 1960 presidential campaign. His opponent, John F. Kennedy, held off on campaigning when Nixon was sick, and Lynch expects Joe Biden to do the same during Trump’s illness.
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“It’s taken them off of the campaign trail in the short term, and it puts a lot of pressure on Biden to respect that,” Lynch said.
Additionally, Lynch expects most Democrats will avoid using Trump’s illness as a talking point during the next few days.
“The Democrats have to be very careful in how they talk about this and how they play this," Lynch said. "They can’t appear to be kicking someone when he’s not feeling well or sick. The impact of this is lessened when there’s only so much the Democrats can do with it.”
Lynch believes the situation is more multi-faceted for Trump, who has spent most of the year trying to manage the country’s COVID-19 crisis.
“The bad news for the president is it puts COVID-19 back on the front page, whereas his potential appointment to the Supreme Court had taken it off of the coronavirus,” Lynch said. “However, if he is not any sicker than he is now in four or five days, then it’s going to be to his benefit. A Trump recovery will superbly motivate his base."
Either way, Lynch said there are very few undecided voters to sway in either direction this close to Election Day.
“Both campaigns are just trying to motivate the voters they have already identified as their voters,” Lynch said.