GOP strategist slams Trump’s ‘reprehensible’ inner circle for ‘boasting’ about their Covid treatment

A longtime conservative political strategist has condemned Donald Trump and his inner circle, slamming the president for “boasting” about treatment he and his friends received for Covid-19 while those less fortunate lacked critical resources amid the pandemic.

Bill Kristol, director of Defending Democracy Together and an outspoken opponent of the president, noted in a tweet how Mr Trump and his allies have continued calling for Americans to disregard coronavirus restrictions, despite most Americans “lacking access” to the same top treatment people like former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has received after testing positive for the novel virus.

“It's one thing for the rich & powerful to get better treatment. That may just be one of the realities of the world,” Mr Kristol wrote on Thursday. “But for the rich & powerful to boast about their treatment, and act as if others lacking access to it need not take care, is reprehensible.”

His comments came after the president’s personal lawyer said he was “getting great care” after contracting Covid-19 and being sent to hospital. Mr Giuliani had spent recent weeks traveling to states like Georgia, Michigan and Arizona to lead the president’s court battles seeking to overturn the results of his electoral defeat.

Meanwhile, more than 280,000 Americans have died as a result of the outbreak which began in the US earlier this year, according to tracking data.

Mr Trump and Mr Giuliani have both ignored coronavirus restrictions throughout their nationwide travels and later contracted the novel virus. Mr Trump was treated at the elite Walter Reed Medical Center, while Mr Giuliani was treated at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington.

The president’s Republican allies on Capitol Hill and across the country have also called for an easing of coronavirus restrictions as part of a bid to reignite the economy, despite the surge of infections in many states that didn’t experience significant initial outbreaks of Covid-19. 

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Mr Giuliani had appeared for hours in meetings with lawmakers across the country without a face mask, and even asked witnesses alongside him to take their masks off as well. It remained unclear when exactly Mr Giuliani first tested positive for the virus. The Trump campaign said in a statement that he had not tested positive during his travels last week.

When Mr Trump tested positive for the virus and was sent to hospital, he received an “experimental cocktail” of medications, according to doctors, including Remdesivir and other treatments said to aid coronavirus patients.

He quickly reemerged from hospital to appear in a car with members of the Secret Service, waving to his supporters from behind closed windows. At that time, he was wearing a face mask.

By Thursday, Mr Giuliani was tweeting that he was “back” and “lost little time” in his long-shot effort to overturn the results of the presidential election.