How the internet reacted to Trump testing positive for coronavirus

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have confirmed that they have both tested positive for Covid-19 and have been forced into self-isolation.

Trump confirmed the news on Thursday night after he and his wife took tests, which followed his close aide and former communications director Hope Hicks starting to show symptoms of the virus.

At 74 years old, Trump is considered to be in the 'at risk category' and his positive test could throw the election, which is just a month away, into disarray. Trump's opponent Joe Biden, who is 77, is also at risk.

Both the president and the first lady, as well as their inner circle, will now have to go into quarantine for 15 days, however another debate between Trump and Biden is set for 15 October.

Since the start of the pandemic, Trump has maintained that the virus would simply 'go away' and hasn't encouraged social distancing or any other precautions at his recent campaign rallies, as well downplaying the dangers and at one point calling it a 'hoax created by the Democrats.'

Other world leaders and key figures have extended their thoughts to Trump following his diagnosis, including Boris Johnson who contracted the virus earlier this year.

Now that Trump has coronavirus, the online reaction has been a mix of people revelling in the president's misfortune and others calling for some decorum.

People such as Piers Morgan, who has been a fierce critic of Trump's response to coronavirus, condemned people for 'spewing gleeful joy' at the news.

That being said, many found it hard to have too much sympathy for a man who just days ago mocked Biden for frequently wearing a mask in public.

Indeed many political commentators in the United States have been using Trump's flagrant disregard of the dangers of coronavirus as a reason to criticise him.

Trump even reportedly made remarks just hours before his diagnosis that the end of the pandemic was 'in sight.'

Attention will also be on vice president Mike Pence as well as Nancy Pelosi.

Under the 25 Amendment, the vice president will assume power in the case of the president being unable to continue his duties, but if Pence is also unable to take the role, the power then switches to Pelosi, who as Democratic speaker of the house is next in line, meaning that she should probably be in isolation too.

And no, The Simpsons did not predict this would happen.

To date, the United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world and the highest number of Covid-19 related deaths.

Trump recently said that a vaccine for the disease could be available as early as next month but there is still no sign of it actually existing.

The president has been recorded on tape saying that he was aware of how dangerous the virus was but tried to emulate the 'calmness' that Winston Churchill showed during World War II and prioritised the economy over people's health and wellbeing.