--- title: Trump's COVID-19 Recklessness Will Bring More Illness description: President Trump's latest messaging on COVID-19 will only lead to further illness and suffering. canonical: https://time.com/5896532/trump-covid/ author: Alex Fitzpatrick article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-10-05T22:01:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T09:17:15.904Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Trump's COVID-19 Recklessness Will Bring More Illness og:description: If President Trump's health remains a mystery, his attitude and behavior towards the virus do not og:url: https://time.com/5896532/trump-covid/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cd73a048bc0d914/698a12e28fd2eeb402361d08/trump-covid.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Trump COVID-19 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump's COVID-19 Recklessness Will Bring More Illness twitter:description: If President Trump's health remains a mystery, his attitude and behavior towards the virus do not twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cd73a048bc0d914/698a12e28fd2eeb402361d08/trump-covid.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump's COVID-19 Recklessness Will Bring More Illness, Death and Suffering > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=672a76e6-e8db-489d-a0b7-9461a75ba91d&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 430,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 50.7% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=672a76e6-e8db-489d-a0b7-9461a75ba91d&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=672a76e6-e8db-489d-a0b7-9461a75ba91d&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. It reaches 430,000 subscribers with a 50.7% open rate as of August 2026. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent.  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Oct 5, 2020 10:01 PM UTC  A car with U.S. President Trump drives past supporters in a motorcade outside of Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on October 4, 2020. A car with U.S. President Trump drives past supporters in a motorcade outside of Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on October 4, 2020. Alex Edelman—AFP/Getty Images  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Oct 5, 2020 10:01 PM UTC Here’s where we are: Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States and the most powerful person on the planet, is sick with COVID-19\. We do not know with any confidence [how ill he truly is;](https://time.com/5896274/trump-covid-19-treatments/) both his physician and White House officials have been unclear and evasive. Journalists’ fascination with Trump’s health may seem morbid, but the presidency confers enormous power—and the example he sets shapes people’s response to the pandemic. The official line is that Trump is improving and is set to be released Monday evening. But he’s receiving a battery of medicinal firepower, some of it experimental, that suggests either he’s sicker than we’re being led to believe, or that his doctors are being unusually aggressive with his treatment—a move that could be risky, or [could be exactly the right strategy. ](https://time.com/5896274/trump-covid-19-treatments/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=coronavirus-brief&utm%5Fcontent=20201005&et%5Frid=%%subscriberid%%)Either way, this virus is vicious, and a person who seems to be doing well in their battle against it one hour can easily take a turn the next. If President Trump’s health remains a mystery, his attitude and behavior towards the virus do not. Soon after posting a [video](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1312864232711520257) on Sunday claiming that he “gets it,” Trump—still potentially contagious—[shortly left the hospital](https://time.com/5896317/trump-hospital-covid19/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=coronavirus-brief&utm%5Fcontent=20201005&et%5Frid=%%subscriberid%%) for a joyride to greet supporters gathered nearby. In doing so, he put the members of his Secret Service detail at serious risk of contracting the virus themselves, despite their precautions, like wearing masks while in the car. “Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary presidential ‘drive-by’ just now has to be quarantined for 14 days,” said Dr. James P. Phillips, the chief of disaster and operational medicine at George Washington University Hospital and an attending physician at Walter Reed, in a [tweet.](https://twitter.com/DrPhillipsMD/status/1312867868028141568) “They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity.” Trump followed up on Monday afternoon with a [ tweet](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1313186529058136070) saying he plans to leave Walter Reed for the White House later that evening. Whether it’s wise for the President to be discharged at this point in his treatment is one thing. But his accompanying messaging is a more distressing matter. “Don’t be afraid of COVID,” Trump said, undercutting public health experts, medical science, and common sense evidence of the past six months. “Don’t let it dominate your life.” He went on to promote recently-developed “really great drugs and knowledge.” While it’s true that doctors have gotten better at treating COVID-19, it’s still killing hundreds of Americans every day. Come winter, that terrible number [may climb once again](https://time.com/5893916/covid-19-coronavirus-third-wave/)—and most Americans cannot access the level of care and attention Trump received at Walter Reed, one of the nation’s foremost hospitals. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1313186529058136070) Monday’s tweet is just the latest example of Trump spreading coronavirus disinformation. A recent [Cornell University study](https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/evanega-et-al-coronavirus-misinformation-submitted-07-23-20-1/080839ac0c22bca8/full.pdf) found that Trump is the single largest driver of COVID-19 falsehoods, which, coming from the President, can have major and disastrous results. Throughout the pandemic, Republicans, no doubt following Trump’s lead, have been [less willing to wear masks,](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/27/more-americans-say-they-are-regularly-wearing-masks-in-stores-and-other-businesses/) for instance, despite evidence that they help curb spread. It’s too early to say how COVID-19 will play out for Trump either medically or politically. The virus will work its course over the next few days; [voters have a few more weeks.](https://time.com/5895539/donald-trump-covid-19-presidential-race/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=coronavirus-brief&utm%5Fcontent=20201005&et%5Frid=%%subscriberid%%) What is increasingly clear, however, is that Trump’s personal brush with a deadly pathogen that has killed nearly 210,000 Americans and infected more than 7.4 million will not change his behavior for the better in any substantial way. As he has done since the beginning, he will continue to deny the severity of the disease despite the human loss it has inflicted across the U.S. and the world. He will instill false confidence in unproven treatments. And he will encourage his followers to ignore experts’ guidance, undoubtedly leading to further illness, suffering and death. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5896532/trump-covid/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5896532/trump-covid/"},"headline":"President Trump's COVID-19 Recklessness Will Bring More Illness, Death and Suffering","datePublished":"2020-10-05T22:01:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:17:15.904Z","description":"If President Trump’s health remains a mystery, his attitude and behavior towards the virus do not","url":"https://time.com/5896532/trump-covid/","keywords":["COVID-19"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cd73a048bc0d914/698a12e28fd2eeb402361d08/trump-covid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cd73a048bc0d914/698a12e28fd2eeb402361d08/trump-covid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Trump COVID-19","caption":"A car with U.S. President Trump drives past supporters in a motorcade outside of Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on October 4, 2020.","creditText":"Alex Edelman—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5896532/trump-covid/","name":"President Trump's COVID-19 Recklessness Will Bring More Illness, Death and Suffering"}}]}] ```