Merkel, Putin, Johnson, Others Wish Trump Speedy Recovery from COVID-19

World leaders have wished a speedy recovery to US President Donald Trump who tested positive for COVID-19, potentially upending his election campaign for the November 2 presidential poll.

Trump said early Friday he and his wife Melania had tested positive for COVID-19 and were in quarantine, after Hope Hicks, one of his closest advisers, tested positive for the disease that has killed more than 200,000 people in the United States.

“We will get through this TOGETHER!” 74-year-old Trump tweeted.

Trump and the first lady had attended a fundraising event in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon.

President Trump has joined a growing list of world leaders who have been infected with the virus, along with more than 10 million people globally.

EU chief Charles Michel on Friday wished President Trump and his wife Melania a quick recovery after the US first couple tested positive for coronavirus.

“Wishing @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a speedy recovery. COVID-19 is a battle we all continue to fight. Everyday. No matter where we live,” Michel said in a tweet.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said; “My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady,” Johnson, who was the first world leader to be hospitalised after contracting COVID-19, said on Twitter. “Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said; “Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health,” Modi said on Twitter.

The Indian and US leaders appear to enjoy warm relations, with Modi hosting Trump at a huge US-style rally in his home state of Gujarat in February.

In September 2019 Trump and the Indian premier attended a similar event in Houston, Texas dubbed “Howdy Modi” in front of a huge crowd of Indian Americans.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, on Friday also wished Trump a speedy recovery.

In a tweet, Tedros wished the couple “a full and speedy recovery”. Trump is pulling the United States out of the WHO, accusing it of mishandling the coronavirus pandemic and being too close to China.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also had a few words of support; “I send Donald and Melania Trump all my good wishes,” her spokesman Steffen Seibert tweeted on her behalf.

“I hope that they recover well from their corona infection and will be quite healthy again soon.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin was also among those to have sent his good wishes. “I am convinced that your vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus,” the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying in the message.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier wished Trump “a speedy and easy recovery” on behalf of the Kremlin.

Peskov said Putin was considering whether to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, after Russia announced in August that it had developed a vaccine named “Sputnik V” after the historic Soviet-era satellite.

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