Last month, it was announced that President Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19. The announcement received a great deal of press coverage, leading to numerous conspiracy theories. One of the most wide-spread of those theories was that the president did not actually test positive and was faking it for political advantage.

 There are three sides to this debate: Trump is lying, Trump is telling the truth, or that Trump actually did test positive and used that positive test result for political advantage in the 2020 presidential election.

 Regardless of which of those people chose to believe, social media was awash with people across the world, no matter their political persuasion, tweeting, texting, snapping, and posting about their beliefs on  Trump’s announced test results.

”There’s a difference between saying you have it and actually having it”, said Olympic Heights junior Reese Allen. Allen’s sentiment reflects the belief of many who wonder why they should believe a president who has been downplaying the coronavirus and dismissing the importance of wearing masks.

Trump has claimed that if people are properly social distancing guidelines, a mask isn’t really necessary despite most every infectious disease expert disagreeing. In fact, Trump often ridiculed his opponent in the presidential race, now president elect Joe Biden, for wearing a mask in public. This led many to believe that if Trump had been cautious and had been setting an example by wearing a mask in public, it may have prevented his catching the virus.

 OH junior Alexander Robson doesn’t believe that Trump faked contracting Covid-19, saying, “There is no reason for him to lie.” Additionally, there were videos released of Trump being rushed to the hospital in a helicopter to seek immediate care. After being in the hospital for a few days, Trump’s physician Sean Conley claimed that “the president is doing very well and is not in need of supplemental oxygen.” 

Those who dismiss the idea that Trump faked contracting Covid-19 point out that it would take too many people to be in on a charade to effectively pull it off, and that eventually someone with knowledge of the scheme would talk. They further point out that all of the doctors and nurses at Walter Reed Hospital where Trump was treated would be committing a major ethical breach by taking part in the scam.

What reason would Trump have for faking being a positive Covid-19 test? Those choosing to think the whole affair was a scam argue that “74-year-old President Trump beats Covid-19” is quite the headline and would help Trump in the presidential election.

And, there are those who do believe that Trump did actually test positive and inappropriately used that to his benefit in the campaign to show how strong and healthy he is in comparison to the 77-year-old Biden. “Maybe I’m immune to it, I don’t know,” Trump remarked on his first outing after being hospitalized. 

Some also suspect Trump has been using his recovery to advance his often stated theory that Covid-19 is not as bad as the media is making it, despite the total U.S. Covid deaths recently surpassing 250,000. 

Regardless of what the truth of the matter is, the whole matter serves as a reminder of where we are as a country when large segments of the population have serious doubts about a White House announcement that the president of the United States has contracted a deadly disease.