Friend Who Trump Warned to Leave New York Dies of COVID-19

Real estate mogul Stanley Chera passed away on Saturday. He reportedly left New York City after President Trump warned him he would be “safer” outside of the city.

The Real Deal, which covers real estate news in New York, reported over the weekend that New York City real estate magnate Stanley Chera had died from complications related to COVID-19. Weeks earlier, Chera had been warned by his friend, President Donald Trump, to leave New York City as the novel coronavirus outbreak was worsening.

According to sources cited by the New York Post last month, Trump told Chera to leave for his summer home near Deal, New Jersey, to be “safer” as the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York City was growing quickly. Chera fled the city before returning in late March for what was an undisclosed illness at the time. 

RELATED: As Trump Reassured Public, He Reportedly Told Friend to Leave NYC Over Coronavirus

On March 29, President Trump spoke about his friend Chera during a press briefing: “I had a friend who went to a hospital the other day. He’s a little older, and he’s heavy, but he’s (a) tough person,” Trump said. “And he went to the hospital, and a day later, he’s in a coma … he’s not doing well.”

“The speed and the viciousness, especially if it gets the right person, it’s horrible. It’s really horrible,” he said.

As of Monday morning, there were 103,206 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York City and and 6,898 related deaths.