President Donald Trump revealed on Friday he does not believe Herman Cain, 2012 Republican presidential hopeful, contracted the coronavirus at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last month.
A reporter asked Trump if he was worried Cain caught the coronavirus at his rally.
“No, I don’t think he did,” Trump said at the White House before departing for a trip to Florida.
Trump additionally praised Cain and told reporters he will be missed.
“Herman Cain was a great man. He did a fantastic job. He was respected by everybody. He was loved by everybody and we will miss Herman Cain,” Trump said.
Watch his comments below:
"No, I don't think he did" — Trump dubiously claims that Herman Cain, who died from Covid after attending a Trump rally in which Covid was spreading without wearing a mask, didn't catch Covid at the rally pic.twitter.com/Ai3viqBTDI
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2020
A statement on his website and Facebook page announced Thursday Cain had died after contracting the coronavirus, as IJR previously reported.
Shortly after the news of his death spread, Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to express his condolences to Cain’s family and recognize Cain as a “Powerful Voice of Freedom,” as IJR previously reported.
Cain was informed he tested positive for the coronavirus on June 29, according to a statement from his Twitter account.
He was hospitalized by July 1.
More than 4.5 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus and nearly 153,000 have lost their lives due to the virus.
In July alone, the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus in the United States rose by almost 25,000. In at least 18 states, coronavirus cases doubled.
Florida, California, and Texas saw the biggest increases.
Florida saw more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases in July.
California and Texas followed with approximately 250,000 new coronavirus cases in each state.
Despite a spike in the number of infections, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during an interview with Fox News he does not believe the United States needs to completely shut down for a second time.