Coronavirus: Donald Trump to hold rally amid COVID test secrecy - even if it may be a public health hazard
For this president, there is no substitute for the sound of himself and the sight of a crowd, writes Sky's James Matthews.
Saturday 10 October 2020 11:16, UK
As invitations go, it's a big ask.
Come and mingle in a COVID hotspot, with speeches by a COVID-positive host, where two dozen were similarly affected in a place that hosted a superspreader event two weeks ago and has since emptied for fear of further infection.
Tempting.
And yet, that's the platform for Donald Trump's public re-emergence on to the campaign trail with a 2,000-strong supporting cast on the White House south lawn.
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He'll speak about law and order from the balcony, so there will be distance between him and the people. Even if there probably won't be between the people themselves.
Donald Trump is desperate to restoke a stalled campaign.
In these recent days of isolation, he has spent hours engaging with the media by phone and by pre-recorded video for his Twitter account.
For this president, though, there is no substitute for the sound of himself and the sight of a crowd.
Hence the rushed entry back into the fray.
On Fox News, he went back on the box to get back in the game - the prime time president interviewed on camera for the first time since his diagnosis.
Not that we got many answers, certainly not on a central question: Has the president tested negative for coronavirus since he left hospital?
It matters because if he's still infected he could still be shedding and spreading.
If he had tested negative for coronavirus, it's probably safe to assume the White House would rush out such as result. And yet, it hasn't and neither has he.
Donald Trump's health, and his handling of it, have cemented coronavirus as the central issue in this campaign.
Scaling up the election schedule would look cavalier and reckless in the extreme if he rolled onto campaign rallies as a still infected president.
It would be a political risk for Donald Trump.
More than that, it would be a health hazard for everyone else.