Donald Trump’s “ignore coronavirus” plan goes awry as House Republican Tom Rice and NFL star Ezekiel Elliott test positive

| 1:08 pm EDT June 15, 2020
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Donald Trump has made clear that at this point his plan for dealing with the coronavirus is to simply ignore it, and hope no one notices that it hasn’t gone away. Trump is already facing widespread pushback for holding a rally in Tulsa this upcoming weekend, and now things have taken an uglier turn.

Moments ago, House Republican Tom Rice announced that he and multiple members of his family recently tested positive for coronavirus. They’re all recovering, but it’s a reminder that the GOP isn’t safe from the virus just because it’s pretending it doesn’t exist. At nearly the same time, NFL Network reported that Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott and multiple other unnamed teammates have the coronavirus, raising questions about whether the NFL will be able to begin training camp as it was hoping.

In other words, Donald Trump’s “ignore coronavirus” plan is falling apart by the hour. Back in the spring, when Trump was still calling it a hoax, one thing that really drove home the seriousness of the situation for the average American was when multiple NBA players tested positive and the entire basketball season was shut down. This new NFL situation could similarly open the eyes of the public, even as Trump pretends coronavirus is somehow over with.