Anti-Trump GOP Group Calls For President’s Speedy Recovery From COVID-19, Hopes Public Will Take Virus More Seriously

The Lincoln Project, a Republican group opposed to Donald Trump, called for the president’s swift recovery on Friday, after it was revealed he tested positive for COVID-19. At the same time, the conservative organization expressed hope the American public would take the virus more seriously.

“The Lincoln Project wishes the president, first lady, and the many White House, campaign staff, and those exposed to COVID-19 a swift recovery,” the group said in a statement. “We encourage anyone who traveled with the presidential party, attended a rally, fundraiser or meeting with the president or campaign or staff to get tested immediately and quarantine appropriately.”

The group said it hopes the president’s diagnosis “sends a signal to the Americans that follow him to take the deadly disease seriously.”

The organization then turned to the president’s response to the pandemic. Trump and his allies have frequently spread conspiracy theories about the virus, with the president downplaying the virus in the early stages of the outbreak.

“From the start, the president and his media cheerleaders have amplified dangerously irresponsible messages about the transmissibility, seriousness, and fatality rates of COVID,” the group continued.

In recent weeks, Trump has claimed COVID-19 affects “virtually nobody” and mocked Democratic nominee Joe Biden for wearing a mask. Just hours before testing positive for the virus, the president said the end of the pandemic was “in sight” during the Al Smith dinner on Thursday.

Trump has also promoted unproven drugs for the virus, such as hydroxychloroquine.

The Lincoln Project has frequently feuded with the president. Trump once referred to the group as the “Losers Project” and has called Republican critics of his administration “human scum.”

The United States currently has the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the world. As of 3:50 p.m. EDT on Friday, there are 7.3 million cases in the U.S., with the domestic death toll standing at 208,403, according to Johns Hopkins University.