Gov. Ron DeSantis expects Trump to soon be campaigning in his adopted home state after quarantining in the White House because of a COVID-19 diagnosis.
“I don’t have any firm details, but if I were a betting man, I’d bet you’ll see him very soon in Florida,” DeSantis said Tuesday during an appearance in The Villages.
Shortly before DeSantis’ comment, President Trump tweeted he’s “feeling great” and planned to be in Miami on Oct. 15 for the second presidential debate.
However, Trump’s tone turned on Thursday when the Commission on Presidential Debates announced the debate was going to be held online “to protect the health and safety of all involved.”
“I’m not going to do a virtual debate,” Trump said in an interview on the Fox Business channel.
Trump had to scrub a rally last Friday in Sanford after testing positive for the virus. Vice President Mike Pence will host a “Latinos for Trump” event at 1 p.m. Saturday at Central Christian University in Orlando, and then will appear at a 3:30 p.m. event in The Villages retirement community.
Pence’s visit will come after Donald Trump Jr. campaigns Thursday in Panama City Beach and Tampa and Eric Trump holds an event Friday in Jacksonville in support of their father.
Florida is widely viewed as a must-win state for Trump as he seeks re-election.
DeSantis has offered upbeat prognoses for the president and First Lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive for COVID-19.
“You know, if you look at how the disease affects different people in different age groups, I mean, I think Melania is somebody that is going to have like a 99.9 percent recovery rate. And when you get over 70, though, the rate’s a little bit lower than that,” DeSantis said last Friday while on the Drew Steele Radio show. “But I think someone like the president who doesn’t have any significant comorbidities, I think he’s going to be able to fight through it and be back for that second debate.”
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This article appears in Oct 7-13, 2020.