Covid-19 Virus Claims Life of Herman Cain

WASHINGTON, KOMPAS.com – Former Republican presidential candidate and US businessman Herman Cain passed away after a month-long battle with the Covid-19 virus.

His death was announced on the businessman’s website. He was 74 years old.

Herman Cain’s last battle with the Covid-19 virus ended at an Atlanta-area hospital where he was admitted since early July based on information from Newsmax.

Herman Cain was set to launch a weekly television program with Newsmax prior to his diagnosis and eventual death.

"Herman Cain — our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us — has passed away," the editor of his website wrote.

"Although he was basically pretty healthy in recent years, he was still in a high-risk group because of his history with cancer," the statement said.

Herman Cain was born in December 1945 in Tennessee and raised in Atlanta by a domestic worker mother and chauffeur father.

The Navy veteran established himself in the corporate world with stints at Pillsbury and Burger King before reviving Godfather's Pizza as its CEO.

Herman Cain then tried his hand at national politics, spicing up the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination with his lively interviews and debate performances.

The African-American businessman's signature policy was his catchy "9-9-9" tax reform plan — a nine percent income tax, a nine percent corporate tax, and nine percent sales tax.

After briefly leading in the polls, Herman Cain suspended his campaign following allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denied.

US President Donald Trump considered him last year for a position on the US Federal Reserve before his candidacy withered under the opposition of several key Republicans.

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The US businessman, a co-chair of Black Voices for Trump, attended a rally for the incumbent in Oklahoma last month, at which several campaign staffers tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

It is not clear how the former presidential candidate contracted Covid-19.

Herman Cain is survived by his wife Gloria, his children Melanie and Vincent, and several grandchildren.

(Writer & Editor: Agence France-Presse) 

Source: http://u.afp.com/386x