Trump’s positive coronavirus test is just the latest twist in the strangest of all US elections

Editorial: Important questions are being raised about what kind of leadership America deserves

(The Independent )

Inevitably, the news that Donald Trump has tested positive for coronavirus has triggered a wave of jokes, memes and conspiracy theories, and not all well-intentioned. President Trump has been that kind of president, and his response to the pandemic invites such uncharitable reactions. His flaws are well documented. Still, it seems perverse not to wish him a speedy recovery on purely compassionate grounds, and the same for Melania Trump and Hope Hicks. Covid-19 is an appalling disease, and “long Covid” can inflict sustained disability on those who survive it.

That then is the latest reframing of context in this presidential election, already the strangest in American history. Even before Mr Trump made his announcement, Americans were being asked to choose between two septuagenarians, with a combined age of 151.

On a purely objective actuarial basis, the American voter was having to think carefully about Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s respective running mates. By the next election in 2024, and possibly well before, one of Mike Pence and Kamala Harris could be in the White House. Mr Trump’s positive coronavirus test should start to concentrate minds still more on these permutations.  

Perhaps in a calmer, more rational and considered world the election would indeed be being fought by a younger, more diverse pairing than Trump-Biden. It would certainly be one without the heavy burden of reckless populism and racial division that Mr Trump has visited upon the American people.  

If Mr Trump is incapacitated then Mr Pence would become acting president or president, depending on the circumstances. The US constitution, and in particular the 25th amendment, is admirably clear on that point.

What is far from clear is whether Donald Trump will, or should, appear on the ballot paper. There is no provision in the US constitution for a candidate falling ill – or worse – during an election campaign. It is entirely a matter for the Republican Party. If Mr Trump wished to withdraw, or was required to, who should take his place? There was no meaningful runner-up for the Republican nomination. An obvious choice would be Mr Pence, who would then be elected in his own right rather than through succession.

Politically, Mr Pence might attract more of the swing state voters currently repelled by Mr Trump. He could beat Mr Biden, but would have to be on the ballots. However, Mr Trump might wish to suggest another alternative more aligned to his own philosophy or taste; perhaps a figure such as secretary of state Mike Pompeo, or, more fancifully, Ivanka Trump, whom Mr Trump is rumoured to want to succeed him dynastically. A significant complicating factor is that many mail-in ballots have already been cast; they would have to be set aside, and polling perhaps delayed.

Such speculation is, for the moment, far-fetched, and if the president’s robust personal constitution holds up, such questions will quickly become irrelevant. However, this latest crisis within a crisis has raised some important questions about precisely what kind of leadership America deserves in the 2020s.