Conspiracy theories fill Trump‑sized void | News

The conspiracy theorists, hate-spewers and hoax-mongers got to work on social media the moment President Donald Trump tweeted that he had the coronavirus.

Some of his online critics did not wish him a speedy recovery; on the contrary: many hoped he would die. Others were convinced the announcement of a positive test result was a hoax.

According to this theory, Trump wanted either to duck out of the presidential debates with Joe Biden, his Democratic rival, or win sympathy votes. Another version was that he wanted to use his illness to call off the election on November 3.

“Is this a 2020 version of bone spurs [the diagnosis which helped Trump avoid the Vietnam War draft]?” read one tweet that was shared thousands of times.

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