White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. The list of high ranking government officials that have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the last four weeks is unsettling. Most unnerving of all is that President Trump was added to the list on Oct. 2.

Trump’s episode with the virus, which has now claimed over 220,000 lives in the United States, was brief. The president was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center due to what White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said was "a fever” and that Trump’s “blood oxygen level had dropped rapidly.” After three days, the president was released.

Trump’s early release from the hospital came as a surprise to many in the medical field. Astonished infectious-disease experts noted that the president was discharged from the hospital during the period when COVID-19 patients are particularly vulnerable to rapid and volatile declines in condition.

After the President’s release, the question about whether his position on the virus would change came to light. Would Trump continue his divisive rhetoric over mask usage and mandates, or would he change his mindset, and approach the pandemic with a bit more gravitas? That question was answered on Oct. 6th, when the president tweeted “Are we going to close down our Country (because of the flu)? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!” President Trump’s rhetoric about the virus has continued to downplay it’s severity. He has continued to hold rallies, press conferences, and campaign fundraisers.

With less than 10 days to go for the election, Vice President Pence has also seen an outbreak of COVID-19 among his staffers. Citing himself as an essential worker, the vice president has continued to attend campaign events. He and his wife, Karen Pence, have tested negative.

Donald Trump had a brief and relatively uneventful brush with coronavirus. Despite many believing that his experience would shift his stance on mask mandates and social distancing, it only emboldened him and his supporters.