Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie are sending their best wishes to Donald Trump and his wife Melania after the pair tested positive for COVID-19.
Trudeau says on Twitter that they are hoping for a full recovery for the president and the first lady.
Trump dropped the bombshell early Friday just hours after Hope Hicks, one of his closest advisers, tested positive herself.
Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020
“We will get through this TOGETHER!” The president tweeted out when confirming the news.
The revelation electrified Washington, even if it might come as little surprise to anyone familiar with the president’s cavalier attitude toward the use of face masks, which experts say is the single best way to block transmission of the virus.
It came just hours after Hope Hicks, a trusted Trump adviser who had travelled extensively with the president throughout the week, tested positive herself.
Media reports early Friday suggest Trump is experiencing “mild symptoms,” and appeared lethargic during a fundraising event Thursday in New Jersey.
The fact that the president must now abide by the self-isolation protocols long imposed on people around the world is an ironic development for an administration assailed for what critics consider a haphazard approach to the pandemic.
Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife Karen, meanwhile, say they have both tested negative for the virus.
Prime Minister Trudeau took to Twitter on Friday as well in order to send a message to the president.
Sophie and I are sending our best wishes to @POTUS Trump and @FLOTUS. We hope you both get well soon and have a full recovery from this virus.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 2, 2020
“Sophie and I are sending our best wishes to POTUS Trump and FLOTUS,” Trudeau tweeted. “We hope you both get well soon and have a full recovery from this virus.”
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for COVID-19 early in the pandemic.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole and his wife, Rebecca, also tested positive and emerged from two weeks’ isolation this week.
O’Toole tweeted out his best wishes to Trump as well noting that he and his wife know “first hand” the challenges of COVID-19.
Rebecca and I know first hand the challenges of COVID-19 and wish @POTUS and @FLOTUS a speedy recovery.
— Erin O'Toole (@erinotoole) October 2, 2020
Other leaders from across the world have also reached out to the United States President in the wake of the news.
Well wishes came from leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 2, 2020
Johnson was another world leader that contracted the COVID-19 virus toward the beginning of the global pandemic.
While most posted messages on social media, others have opted to send messages in a more traditional manner, such as letters.
With files to the Canadian Press.
Graham Cox
