Herman Cain Dies at Age 74: 'The World Is Poorer'
Beloved conservative activist and businessman Herman Cain has died, his team announced Thursday. He was 74.
Cain had been hospitalized with the coronavirus since July 1.
“Herman Cain — our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us — has passed away,” read a post published Thursday on HermanCain.com by site editor Dan Calabrese.
“He’s entering the presence of the Savior he’s served as an associate minister at Antioch Baptist Church in Atlanta for, and preparing for his reward,” Calabrese wrote in the post titled, “We’re heartbroken, and the world is poorer: Herman Cain has gone to be with the Lord.”
You’re never ready for the kind of news we are grappling with this morning. But we have no choice but to seek and find God’s strength and comfort to deal… #HermanCain https://t.co/BtOgoLVqKz
— Herman Cain (@THEHermanCain) July 30, 2020
Cain was the CEO of Godfather’s Pizza from 1986 to 1996, according to The Wall Street Journal, before going on to lead the National Restaurant Association.
He also served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City from 1995 to 1996.
In 2011, Cain announced he was running for president as a Republican.
He garnered widespread support thanks to his 9-9-9 plan (a 9 percent flat tax on individuals, a 9 percent national retail sales tax and a 9 percent flat tax on businesses).
Cain eventually suspended his campaign in December 2011, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney went on to win the GOP presidential nomination.
Cain, 74, was known as a strong Christian.
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“Romans 2:6-7 says: ‘God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life,’” Calabrese wrote.
“By that measure, we expect the boss is in for some kind of welcome, because all of us who knew him are well aware of how much good he did.”
Cain’s death came as a surprise to many of his fans, especially considering his team gave an encouraging update regarding his status on Tuesday.
“We know it’s been a few days since we last gave you an update on the boss. But he is still in the hospital being treated with oxygen for his lungs,” Cain’s team said earlier this week.
“In the meantime, the doctors say his other organs and systems are strong.”
But Cain, a Stage 4 colon cancer survivor, was always going to be “in for a battle,” Calabrese said.
“Let me deal with some of the particulars of the last few weeks. We knew when he was first hospitalized with COVID-19 that this was going to be a rough fight. 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,” he wrote Thursday.
“We didn’t release detailed updates on his condition to the public or to the media because neither his family nor we thought there was any reason for that. 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. We were relieved to be told that, and passed on the news via Herman’s social media. And yet we also felt real concern about the fact that he never quite seemed to get to the point where the doctors could advance him to the recovery phase.
“Herman was 74. Although he was basically pretty healthy in recent years, he was still in a high-risk group because of his history with cancer. We all prayed so hard every day. We knew the time would come when the Lord would call him home, but we really liked having him here with us, and we held out hope he’d have a full recovery.
“I’m sorry I had to bring you bad news this morning. But the good news is that we had a man so good, so solid, so full of love and faith … that his death hits us this hard. Thank God for a man like that.”
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