Dozens More Test Positive…Others Being Tested for Virus
WASHINGTON – The most powerful man on the planet is now recovering from the most powerful force of 2020.
U.S. President Donald Trump, along with First Lady Melania Trump and White House adviser Hope Hicks, have all tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Contact tracing has already begun for all those in the President’s inner circle.
After an Oct. 1 interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News – in which he condemned white supremacy and the Proud Boys – Trump sent two tweets. First, he posted, “Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!”
Then, just minutes into the early morning of Oct. 2, this tweet stopped everything: “Tonight, @FLOTUS (Melania Trump) and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”
Trump’s son Barron and daughter Ivanka, as well as her husband Jared Kushner, have tested negative. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen have also tested negative. Meanwhile, former VP Joe Biden, who debated Trump on Tuesday, tested negative, along with running mate Kamala Harris.
Later that day, Trump experienced shortness of breath and a mild fever, complications consistent with COVID-19. He was then transported to Walter Reed Military Hospital for more treatment. After a few days under care and medications, Trump was dismissed from the facility on Oct. 5.
“Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!” Trump tweeted before his departure from Walter Reed. This is one of two dozen tweets the President had within the span of a few hours.
Others within the inner circle of the presidency also tested positive. This includes at least: former NJ Governor Chris Christie, advisor Kellyanne Conway and her daughter Claudia, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, and Notre Dame President John Jenkins. Most of them attended an event celebrating the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Within the incubation period of the virus, the President attended a fundraiser event in Bedminster, New Jersey. At least 206 people were said to have been possibly exposed in an initial round of contact tracing.
Current NJ Governor Phil Murphy called the Bedminster event reckless and said that it put lives at risk.
Despite his condition, Trump posted on Twitter that his scheduled Oct. 15 debate with Biden will still take place.
