Cain's Loyalty to Trump Probably Gets Him Killed
On This Day In 2020
Trump’s fizzled Tulsa Rally claimed a prominent victim. Back on July 11th we told you about the campaign event Trump threw in Tulsa, despite the advice he got from public health officials that doing so would be a terrible idea.
Trump brought at least 8 Covid-infected staffers with him to that disastrous event. Within days, the city of Tulsa experienced a large Covid surge which public health officials said was ‘more than likely’ linked to Trump rally.
(Btw, Tulsa’s fate was not unusual. As noted in STAT, “Community outbreaks of Covid-19 often emerge after Trump’s campaign rallies.” By comparison, Trump's rival, Joe Biden, played it safe during that Covid summer of 2020. He was often “ridiculed by the president (Trump) for his mask-wearing and modest event attendance (sometimes in purposefully near-empty rooms) as a source of weakness.” Ah, but at least he didn’t spread death.)
Herman Cain was a prominent GOP figure. He had run for the presidency in 2012, had served at the Federal Reserve Bank, and had been CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. Unfortunately for him, he was also a strong supporter of Trump’s and, therefore, he followed Trump’s directives.
Like Trump, Cain refused to take Covid seriously. So Cain actually traveled to Tulsa just to attend Trump’s maskless superspreader rally. Not surprisingly, Cain was diagnosed with Covid nine days later.
But here’s what is surprising. And extraordinarily irresponsible. Even after he got sick, and before he made his diagnosis public, Cain still encouraged other GOP acolytes to avoid safety measures. Regarding an upcoming Trump rally, Cain advised: “Masks will not be mandatory for the event, which will be attended by President Trump. PEOPLE ARE FED UP!” he tweeted.
There’s nothing quite so euphoric as spreading Donald Trump’s...messages.
Cain spent most of July in a hospital bed, trying to fight off the deadly disease he had contracted. But sadly he was unsuccessful, and OTDI 2020 he succumbed to the virus.
Such a sad, avoidable tragedy.
To learn more about Cain and his significant role in public life, see this profile in The Atlantic by David A. Graham
Dive Deeper
Reuters wrote about Cain's life and his Covid decisions
The Covid-afflicted consequences impact of Trump’s rallies
The Tulsa aftermath
Trump brought at least 8 Covid-infected team members to Tulsa