Is Mike Pence’s pink eye really coronavirus?
In the week since Donald Trump announced that he had coronavirus, Mike Pence studiously remained out of the public eye, leading some to question if he was secretly sick with coronavirus himself. Pence’s appearance during the debate did little to bolster his assertion that his health is fine.
When Mike Pence first appeared on the debate stage, his eyes were noticeably red and swollen, as if he’d just been crying or heavily drinking, or had suffered an allergic reaction. But as the debate went on, many observers began to suspect that Pence was actually suffering from conjunctivitis or pink eye. This is a real problem, because pink eye is often a sign of a coronavirus infection.
Of course pink eye can also just be pink eye. But given the overall circumstances, there’s reason to fear it may have been something more. Why did Mike Pence disappear from public view just as Donald Trump and so many other White House people were coming down with coronavirus? Was it because he’s been sick the whole time? Why did Pence’s team use the plexiglass controversy on Tuesday to try to get the debate canceled, only to ultimately cave on the plexiglass issue? Were they going back and forth on whether to send Pence out there with visible pink eye, for fear the public would figure out he secretly has coronavirus?
This is a good deal of speculation – but in this instance it’s more than warranted. This regime has been consistently dishonest with us about Donald Trump’s health in general, and about the White House coronavirus outbreak in particular. We know Mike Pence was exposed to coronavirus. Now he’s displaying a common symptom of coronavirus, in his first public appearance in a week. It’s more than fair to ask the question.
