Herman Cain 'proudly tweeted about masks not being mandatory' at Trump's rally before succumbing to Covid-19
Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died from coronavirus, and now critics have pointed out how he "once proudly tweeted about masks not being mandatory" at a Trump rally he attended. The 74-year-old leader was hospitalized earlier this month and was being treated with oxygen in his lungs, according to his Twitter account.
"We knew when he was first hospitalized with COVID-19 that this was going to be a rough fight," Dan Calabrese, the editor of HermanCain.com, tweeted Thursday. "He had trouble breathing and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. We all prayed that the initial meds they gave him would get his breathing back to normal, but it became clear pretty quickly that he was in for a battle."
Cain was co-chair of Black Voice for Trump and was one of the surrogates at the president's re-election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20. It later emerged that at least eight staffers in attendance had tested positive for COVID-19. The Tea Party activist shared a photo of himself at the rally, without a facial covering and seated in close proximity with other attendees.
Calabrese said in a post earlier this month that they had "no idea" where Cain had been exposed to the virus. "I realize people will speculate about the Tulsa rally, but Herman did a lot of traveling the past week, including to Arizona where cases are spiking," he wrote.
That said, Cain raised eyebrows earlier this month when he appeared to support Trump's decision not to require masks at the 4th of July celebration event held at Mount Rushmore. "Masks will not be mandatory for the event, which will be attended by President Trump. PEOPLE ARE FED UP!" Cain announced in a tweet that appears to have since been taken down.
However, Cain was later seen in commentary videos for his website -- that aired in June – urging Americans to wear masks. "If people take it seriously, social distancing, sanitizing, hand washing, and masks, then we're going to be fine trying to do both at the same time — open the economy and then employ safety guidelines," Cain was heard saying in one video.
Meanwhile, his website promoted the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, that has been touted by Trump and several studies have since backed up its effectiveness while treating COVID-19 patients.
Considering guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cain was considered at an increased risk for coronavirus owing to his age and history with colon cancer.
The syndicated columnist was given a 30% chance of survival back in 2006 after being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to his liver. After undergoing several rounds of chemotherapy and surgery to remove cancer from his liver, Cain miraculously beat the disease a year later.
In 2011, he told CNN that his triumph with the disease had inspired him to do "something bigger and bolder," and so he decided to run for the highest office in the country.