Herman Cain, former GOP presidential candidate, dies after battle with coronavirus
By: Kevin Breuninger (CNBC)
I knew he was sick with the COVID.
Less than two weeks before receiving his diagnosis, Cain had attended Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the marquee event for the president’s self-proclaimed reelection campaign kickoff.
I wonder if that will make people sit up and take notice
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Published Thu, Jul 30 202010:28 AM EDTUpdated 1 Min Ago Key Points
- Herman Cain, a former presidential hopeful who was once considered by President Donald Trump for the Federal Reserve, has died after being hospitalized with the coronavirus. He was 74.
- Cain's death was announced Thursday on his website by Dan Calabrese, who edits the site and had previously written about his colleague's diagnosis.
- Cain was among the highest-profile public figures in the United States to have died from Covid-19.
Herman Cain Julie Dermansky | Corbis News | Getty Images
Herman Cain, a former presidential hopeful who was once considered by President Donald Trump for the Federal Reserve, has died after being hospitalized with the coronavirus. He was 74.
Cain's death was announced Thursday on his website by Dan Calabrese, who edits the site and had previously written about his colleague's diagnosis.
"Herman Cain - our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us - has passed away," Calabrese said in the blog post. "We all prayed so hard every day. We knew the time would come when the Lord would call him home, but we really liked having him here with us, and we held out hope he'd have a full recovery."
Cain was among the highest-profile public figures in the United States to have died from Covid-19. A 74-year-old survivor of stage 4 colon cancer, Cain had been a business executive and the board chairman of a branch of Kansas City's Federal Reserve Bank before moving into Republican politics and eventually becoming a presidential candidate.
Last year, Trump briefly considered picking Cain as his nominee to join the Federal Reserve Board. Cain remained a vocal supporter of Trump's after his nomination was withdrawn, and he attended the president's controversial reelection rally in Oklahoma in June, shortly before being diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Calabrese did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for additional comment.
Cain had been hospitalized in Atlanta on July 1, two days after being told he had tested positive for Covid-19, according to a statement posted to his social media accounts at the time.
He did not require a respirator and was "awake and alert" when he checked in to the hospital, the statement said. "Please join with us in praying for Mr. Cain, and for everyone who has contracted the coronavirus - as well as their families," it said.
Cain's social media accounts occasionally provided vague updates on his condition. A message on July 5 said he was "making progress" and that "more encouraging news" was expected to come soon. Two days later, Cain's Twitter account said "doctors are trying to make sure his oxygen levels are right."
On July 10, another tweet said Cain himself described his status as "cruise control," because "the progress is slow but his breathing is getting stronger every day. Make no mistake: He is improving!"
The most recent update,
Less than two weeks before receiving his diagnosis, Cain had attended Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the marquee event for the president's self-proclaimed reelection campaign kickoff.
Cain, a vocal supporter of Trump, tweeted a photograph of himself at the rally surrounded by other attendees, none of whom appeared to be wearing masks or other protective gear.
The Trump campaign said that all attendees at the event had their temperatures checked upon entry, and that masks and hand sanitizer were handed out but not required to use.
The campaign revealed before the event that six members of the team involved in the rally preparations had tested positive for the virus and had been quarantined.
The July 2 statement on Cain's hospitalization said, "There is no way of knowing for sure how or where Mr. Cain contracted the coronavirus." The Trump campaign said after Cain's diagnosis that he had not met with the president at the Tulsa rally.
Calabrese, the media director of Cain's website, repeatedly declined CNBC's requests for additional information on Cain's condition throughout his struggle with the virus.
"We're not saying anything else beyond what we've posted on social media," Calabrese said in a July 7 email. "That's Herman's and [his wife, Gloria Etchison's,] wish so I appreciate you respecting it."
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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I'm sorry for his family.
I didn't see yours! I'm deleting mine!
okey dokey.
I posted this one in my group so I can moderate it
That's my clever girl (crush)!
My condolences to his family and friends.
Herman Cain - proponent of hydroxychloroquine...
Like all others who walk on from this dreaded virus, my prayers go out to his family.
Till the very end Cain spread Covid-19 disinformation!
I guess now he knows the truth.
bwah ha ha ha.... ya think?
karma.
I'm sorry for his family, as well.
But there's no way to ignore this:
Here he is all happy and stuff...no mask...at Trump's Tulsa rally.
I guess he thought it would be nice to share his own virus. After all, from the looks of it all the others at the rally were ready and will to welcome it with open arms.
Very sad news. His campaign, like so many, was taken down by media allegations. He was a nice man. When recently lampooned with his famous "nine-nine-nine" he would let out a big laugh. Anyone who can laugh at himself and not hold any resentments over the methods used to derail his campaign gets an A for character in my book.
way to take one for the trump team, moron. tough shit...
[he's not calling you a moron, Vic]
Why was that directed to me?
...I sure as fuck would have if I knew I was going to get a ticket.
....another basic grammar failure by one of those that allegedly has the answers to most everything else.
... and another funeral for a black person POS/POTUS won't be attending.
"when's our tee time?"
It's not really a ticket, Dev. It doesn't count towards a vacation.
if it was, you can be sure as hell I would have been a lot more descriptive...
Now that I think about it, I don't remember his health status being released to the public. Did anyone else know about his Covid status prior to this morning?
I had read that he had contracted it and it was believed he got it at the Tulsa rally. This is the first news I've heard since then
Lots of GOP value in keeping it a secret...
I read it earlier this week.
Where the hell have I been? Oh, yeah...I think I was throwing my hissy fit.
took me a full day to stop laughing after I read it...
Sorry for his family's loss but he did it to himself by listening to orange conman
no doubt.
Apparently Cain contracted Covid-19 at Trump's ridiculous Tulsa rally and has been ill for a month...
The chickens came home to roost.
I think in his own way Cain was a well meaning man, and I am sad to hear of his passing. His politics were out of touch with 21st century America though, and he would have been wiped out if he ever made it to a general election.
You also have to wonder if he took all possible precautions to prevent the virus, or if he followed the Trump protocol.
Take a look at Sister Mary's comment in #8. Does it look like he took all the necessary precautions?
I see.
It is hard to get a mask on when your lips are attached to Trump's ass.
bwah ha ha ha...
I'm going straight to hell for laughing at that, aren't I?
Eh, I heard the music is better.
I will have drinks ready.
I'll save you a seat
"I'm going straight to hell for laughing at that, aren't I?"
I guess I am too!
"I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, the sinners are much more fun . . . "
Make mine a double martini with 3 big-ass olives, please.
As long as it's at the bar. Less heat.
I think we have to drink warm beer
Damn the bad luck. Watch me guzzle anyway.
No wonder Gohmert caught it.
Apple or dirty?
Unfortunately, as far as being 'well meaning', Cain's anti-union lobbying brings him up short.
The vast majority of LEOs and Firemen belong to unions.
meh, he probably read it as onions...
RIP
Sorry but after having cancer and chemotherapy, which he did recover, he had underlying conditions that would make it harder for him to recover from the virus. Plus his age.
He should have taken more precautions. Even fox news is reporting he was at the rally without a mask. Kind of insinuating that could be where he contracted it.
If he was in a high risk group he should have stayed home instead of going to a political rally.
Well, it's a shame, but maybe if more famous people get it, it will galvanize regular Americans to take stronger action to protect themselves.
Now briefly, in Cain's defense, we don't know how he got it. We can speculate, but we don't know. Maybe it was something totally out of his control. Still, I look around and I see so many people who apparently believe it can't happen to them and it's frustrating.
Thank-you
He went to a mass gathering (even if it did fall well short of expectations) and didnt wear a mask. That was certainly within his control.
It is possible that he didn't get it from the Tulsa rally. But it's my understanding that the number of cases went up in Tulsa after that rally
True. But the rally was on June 20th. He tested positive on June 29th. He's been in the hospital for a month.
I think he got it from the rally, but that's just an opinion.
And I agree that was a foolish risk. Certainly one I wouldn't take. Still we don't know that's how he got it.
Is Cain the ahole who had a picture of him in an oil painting with a black Jesus?
I think that was the idiot cabinet member ben carson. herman had a gospel album, and a string of mistresses.
Ah yes. Thank you.
74 years old and had beaten cancer. I can't imagine what he was thinking going without a mask. He asked for it and he got it.
he willingly climbed up on that cross for his false idol...
I wonder if Cain signed the waiver before attending the Trump rally forbidding him from suing Trump and Trump's campaign if he contracted Covid-19 there? The Trump waiver is very likely unenforceable as against public policy. Even if Cain did sign, and it was enforceable as to Cain himself, I doubt that it would apply to Cain's heirs, and they could possibly sue Trump and the campaign for wrongful death. That would be interesting.
if not, his heirs should press the issue for a large quiet settlement.