Is Public Tough Guy Donald Trump Scared Of Jail? A Look Back At When The President Feared Death

Although former President Donald Trump maintains his "tough guy" image in public and on social media, there may be moments when the man arraigned on 34 felony counts related to hush payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels fears the repercussions of the charges.

While in the White House, Trump often appeared to believe he was above the law, but his indictment and arraignment in a Manhattan court earlier this month were likely a reality check for the former reality TV host who was voted out of office in 2020. 

The current charges against Trump alone are unlikely to amount to jail time, but the 45th president is facing multiple criminal investigations and if the indictments continue to rack up it could hurt his chances of winning the 2024 presidential race.

During his time as president, Trump worried and obsessed over his poll numbers, especially after the onset of the pandemic. He was also concerned that he would die of COVID-19.

A Look Back At Why Trump Feared Dying

Trump believed the timing of the pandemic was inopportune, gripping the nation just a few months prior to the start of his unsuccessful reelection campaign.

"Can you believe this happened to me?" Trump said, according to a book by New York Times columnist Maggie Haberman, published in October 2022.

Privately, Trump’s view of the coronavirus fluctuated. Although the 45th president would demand his aides removed their protective masks while in his presence, he was also fearful of dying, according to Haberman.

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Trump’s Public Stance: Fearing the pandemic would affect his poll numbers, Trump ordered aides to avoid discussions about the virus on TV, according to the book.

“Don’t make such a big deal out of this,” Trump told then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo during a conversation the pair had in March 2020. “You’re gonna make it a problem.”

Trump also attempted to diminish the potential severity of the virus during his press conferences.

In April 2020, the former president stood at the lectern in the White House briefing room to question whether disinfectant and sunlight could effectively be used inside the body to cure Covid.

“And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning,” Trump pondered aloud after suggesting infected people could also be treated with a “very powerful light.”

Trump also feared for his life after he and then-First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus in late September 2020.

Trump’s Private Fears: Trump’s worry, that the coronavirus could cost him his life, was likely exacerbated after Tony Ornato, the deputy chief of staff of operations, issued a warning to the former president. Ornato notified Trump “that if he fell into a more dire situation, procedures to ensure the continuity of government would have to be set into motion,” Haberman wrote in the book.

Trump pulled through the ordeal, after being treated with a concoction of therapies at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He gave the crowd a characteristic thumbs up as he exited the hospital on Oct. 5, 2020.

Although Trump never outright admitted to the potential gravity of the virus and always maintained his message that he wasn’t scared, his experience with the illness caused Trump, at least inwardly, to begin to recognize the danger.

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Some elements of this story were previously reported by Benzinga and it has been updated.