There was widespread foreign sympathy, but also anything that sounded like schadenfreude after President Donald Trump announced Friday on Twitter that he and the first girl, Melania Trump, had tested positive for the new coronavirus.
“I wish my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a speedy recovery and health,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose relationship with Trump has grown stronger in recent years, temporarily tweeted.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week in April, partly in intensive care, after contracting COVID-19, wanted Trump to “recover quickly. “
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Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu took a tone, and even used some of the same words: “Like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and first girl Melania Trump and wish our friend a full and quick recovery,” he said. I.
News that a 74-year-old U. S. president has joined a potentially fatal virus has been broadcast in new ads and on television screens around the world, from Dubai to Beijing.
Stock markets in London, Tokyo, and Australia fell dramatically, and U. S. equity futures on Wall Street also fell, as investors wondered what the announcement for the November 3 election between TrumpArray, a Republican, and Democrat Joe Biden meant.
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“To say that this can be a big challenge is to fall short,” Dutch monetary company Rabobank said in a comment.
But while the world expressed sympathy, some neighborhoods were satisfied with Trump’s infection.
The news “reminded me how masks are used in Japan,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said at a weekly press conference. Koike mentioned Trump’s reluctance to wear a mask when asked about his infection.
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In China, where the government has been angry at Trump’s attempts to blame Beijing for the epidemic, there has been no official reaction to the news beyond a brief announcement on CCTV, the country’s public broadcaster, but Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times public newspaper, tweeted in English that “President Trump and the first girl have paid the value of their bet to downplay COVID-19. “
The theme was the most sought after topic in China on the widespread Weibo social media app a few hours after the announcement, and most of the comments were mocking or critical.
In Iran, state television announced the news of Trump’s infection with an unflattering symbol of him surrounded by what appeared to be giant graphic representations of the coronavirus.
Qatar’s state news channel, Al Jazeera, asked commentators to talk about the “prevailing state of uncertainty” in the United States, and wondered if Trump could simply lead a re-election crusade and get the country out of the 1940s.
On social media, some users seemed to revel in the announcement and pointed to some of Trump’s misleading claims about the disease and how to treat it.
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“This is a possibility for him to verify his concept of injecting himself with disinfectant and protect himself (against accusations that) it’s fake news!” tweeted Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese Internet entrepreneur, referring to a concept recommended through Trump this year to deal with COVID-19, Trump has since said he’s being sarcastic.
Masaru Kaneko, professor of economics at Keio University in Japan, tweeted that leaders such as British Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro “were inflamed because they tended to take the coronavirus seriously. “Because they themselves were inflamed, they said Johnson and Bolsonaro had begun to take the virus more seriously. “Will the United States adhere to its examples? Kaneko wondered.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with whom Trump has not agreed on a variety of problems ranging from immigration to NATO spending, had a more direct reaction.
“I make my most productive desires bigger for Donald and Melania Trump. I hope your infection is well #corona Corona and soon has a very productive health. POTUS @FLOTUS,” Merkel tweeted through official spokesman Steffen Seibert.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke.
“I’m sure your inherent vitality, intelligent humor and optimism will help you deal with this harmful virus,” the Russian leader said in a telegram sent to Trump, according to Russia’s official News Agency Interfax.
Contributor: Associated Press