From the pandemic’s earliest days, U.S. President Donald Trump was of two minds on the novel coronavirus.
In public he was dismissive and belittling of the virus and those who feared it. In private, for all his bravado, he acted like a man who dreaded catching it.
He told his then-chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to "stay the hell home” from a trip to India in February because he didn’t want to be around Mulvaney and his lingering cough, according to people familiar with the trip. Even before the virus, Trump was known to dart to the other side of the room if someone sneezed. He used medical wipes labeled "not for use on skin” to scrub his hands, along with the ever-present Purell.
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