Herman Cain Hospitalized with Coronavirus: 'COVID-19 Doesn't Know Who It's Messing With'

Political commentator Herman Cain is confirmed to have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

According to an official statement posted Thursday on Twitter, the prominent conservative figure initially tested positive for the virus on Monday but has since seen symptoms worsen to the point of hospitalization and is requesting prayer from the wider American community.

The titular host of televised political programs on both Newsmax TV and a self-operated news website, Cain, 74, is a survivor of Stage 4 colon cancer — which carries a five-year survival rate of just 14 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. His widely reported cancer battle would leave him classified in the at-risk population believed to be more likely to contract the virus or even die from it.

A few short hours after his hospitalization, however, Cain is said to be “resting comfortably in an Atlanta-area hospital.”

He reportedly did not require medically assisted breathing apparatus such as a respirator.   

“We are sorry to announce that Herman Cain has tested positive for COVID-19, and is currently receiving treatment in an Atlanta-area hospital,” an announcement on Cain’s official Twitter account read. “Please keep him, and all who are battling this virus, in your prayers.”

 

Those close to Cain were quick in joining the figure’s calls for prayer, with HermanCain.com editor Dan Calabrese penning a commentary article shortly after the announcement to provide further detail and rally loyal readers in response to the diagnosis.

A longtime colleague and friend of the eventual Republican presidential candidate, Calabrese recounted the strength with which Cain had fought his battle with cancer roughly 14 years ago, telling readers, “COVID-19 doesn’t know who it’s messing with.”

“Let’s not sugarcoat it: COVID-19 is a horrible thing to experience, and while we are sure Herman will beat it just like he beats everything, he really needs prayer right now,” Calabrese wrote. “Herman will be fine. We’re also confident of that. But please lift him up in your prayers, as well as his wife Gloria and their family for strength and encouragement in getting through this.”

“We know the guy who’s led this team with focus and determination through plenty of highs and lows, and has been extremely good to all of us throughout the whole thing. He’s our boss. We love him. Ask God to take good care of him today,” he added. 

The editor also sought to put to rest any and all speculation that Cain had contracted coronavirus while attending President Donald Trump’s June 20 comeback campaign rally at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

According to The Washington Post, as many as six presidential campaign staffers had tested positive for the virus just hours after the Saturday rally — a development many in the establishment media highlighted as further evidence against a return to normalcy after months of nationwide public health lockdowns. 

Oklahoma had not been Cain’s only destination the previous week, however, as he also stopped off in a virus-embattled Arizona.

“Since I know there will be questions: We honestly have no idea where he contracted it,” Calabrese wrote. “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. I don’t think there’s any way to trace this to the one specific contact that caused him to be infected.”

“We’ll never know,” he added.

Cain is one of more than 100,000 Americans to have tested positive for COVID-19 this week as a spike in viral transmission led to a single-day case confirmation record of 52,789 Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.