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President Donald Trump Speaks At U.S.S. Battleship North Carolina

Source: Melissa Sue Gerrits / Getty

It is what it is.

World Smile Day just happens to have fallen on the same day that Donald Trump tweeted that he and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus.

It was hard to tell what exactly to make of what could just be a coincidence in a year that will go down in history as one of the worst ever for all of mankind. In that perspective, there is absolutely no reason to smile during his year’s installment of World Smile Day, especially as the globe has been brought to its collective knees thanks to the first pandemic in more a century.

Yet here we are, observing anther World Smile Day as the president of the United States quarantines himself with just about one month ahead of perhaps the most consequential American election in modern history. Not just observing it, but also watching the World Smile viral hashtag ascend the trending ranks of Twitter, Trump’s preferred method of communication.

Of course, none of the #WorldSmileDay tweets were about Trump (as of 10 a.m. ET), as that would be an indecent thing to do, even to the living personification of indecency. With that said, Trump’s devastating impact on the world at large has been well documented.

And the fact — or, again, coincidence — that all of these truths were colliding during a month also called “October Surprise” in reference to unexpected (or planned) major political events as an election rapidly approaches could be tough for some to ignore.

To be sure, World Smile Day has been a thing for more than two decades. It was inspired by artist Harvey Ball, the artist credited with creating the smiley face that’s gone on to become an emoji standard.

“He declared that the first Friday in October each year would henceforth be World Smile Day®,” according to the official World Smile Day website. “Ever since that first World Smile Day® held in 1999, it has continued every year in Smiley’s hometown of Worcester, MA and around the world.”

The site adds: “Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile”!

Trump’s coronavirus diagnoses bring attention to the very consequential fact that he has multiple pre-existing health conditions that could exacerbate his experience with COVID-19: He’s elderly, obese and reportedly suffered multiple mini strokes last year. Statistics also show that men have a greater likelihood of dying from the coronavirus than women who have contracted the disease.

However, the privilege of being white is on Trump’s side, as CDC data show the coronavirus hurts Black people and Latinos exponentially worse than Caucasians.

SEE ALSO:

Trump Has The Coronavirus: What His Pre-Existing Health Conditions Mean In The Long, Or Short, Run

Obama Slams Trump Over USPS: He Prefers ‘Suppressing The Vote,’ Not ‘The Virus’

‘World Smile Day’ Trends On Twitter As Trump Tests Positive For The Coronavirus  was originally published on newsone.com

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