In October 2020, readers asked Snopes to examine the authenticity of what appeared to be a tweet, posted on Sept. 18, 2020, predicting that U.S. President Donald Trump would announce he had contracted COVID-19 in October. On Oct. 2, Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 amid dozens of positive tests by White House officials and prominent Republicans. In the days that followed, users of Facebook and Instagram shared a screenshot of a tweet by user @JohnCammo that stated: Trump’s October surprise will be the announcement of “his infection.” Fake, but quite dramatic. This twist will blow Biden off the screens, the “Trump COVID watch” dominating every minute of every day. Then, 14 days later, Trump will emerge, 100% cured by hydroxychloroquine. Those images were screenshots of a real tweet posted on Sept. 18, 2020, by @JohnCammo, whose name is not publicly available but who frequently tweets criticism of Trump and claims to live in rural California. An archived version of the tweet can be viewed here, establishing its authenticity, and the authenticity of its date. No evidence exists to demonstrate that Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis was anything other than real, and @JohnCammo appears to have been engaging in no more than idle speculation. For one thing, Trump “emerged” from his illness — he returned to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center four days after his diagnosis, not 14 — and as of Oct. 6, the White House has not stated that he was treated with hydroxychloroquine.
On Sept. 18, 2020, Twitter user @JohnCammo predicted that U.S. President Donald Trump would announce in October that he had tested positive for COVID-19.