Boris Johnson's Covid Case Has Echoes for Trump
A quick recovery would probably be emboldening but a physical struggle with lingering aftereffects might lead to different public health policies.
A common experience.
Photographer: WPA Pool/Getty Images EuropeWhen Boris Johnson announced on March 27 that he’d tested positive for Covid-19, Brits were in shock, much as Americans were on Friday morning when they heard President Donald Trump was infected. The U.K. prime minister was the first leader of a major country to be hospitalized with the virus, an event that was characterized as “routine” at first before the illness took a more serious turn.
Nobody knows how this will play out for Trump, just as they didn’t for Johnson. But the president’s “precautionary” hospitalization is an obvious concern given his age and weight. Thankfully, Johnson was able to return to work eventually after a stay in intensive care — a period when it wasn’t always obvious who was running Britain. At least in the U.S. it’s constitutionally clear who takes charge should the leader become incapacitated.