Herman Cain has died from COVID-19 after being hospitalized at the beginning of the month. The former presidential candidate and businessman was 74-years-old.
“We knew when he was first hospitalized with COVID-19 that this was going to be a rough fight,” a post on his website said on Thursday. “He had trouble breathing and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. We all prayed that the initial meds they gave him would get his breathing back to normal, but it became clear pretty quickly that he was in for a battle.”
The post said there were “hopeful indicators, including a mere five days ago when doctors told us they thought he would eventually recover, although it wouldn’t be quick.” Still, he “never quite seemed to get to the point where the doctors could advance him to the recovery phase.”
In an earlier post from Cain’s website, his team said it was unclear how he had gotten infected with coronavirus. While he had been “pretty healthy” recently, he was at higher risk with COVID-19 due to his previous bout with stage 4 colon cancer.
Cain was present at Trump’s Tulsa campaign rally on June 20, which was held indoors and with little regard to wearing face masks and social distancing. He then tested positive on June 29 and was hospitalized on July 2.
Cain shared images of himself at the rally without a face covering, though in a video on his website, he said he wore a mask in large groups. He also said that everyone who attended the rally had their temperatures checked upon arrival, and hand sanitizer was administered. He believed that “even though it was a crowded room of people, if they took precautions, [there is] probably not going to be a big uptick.”
Cain had also shared anti-mask tweets that have since been deleted.
Prior to the rally, six staffers and two Secret Service officers tested positive for the virus.
