{"id":1189,"date":"2020-10-02T09:21:34","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T13:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1189"},"modified":"2020-10-02T09:29:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T13:29:13","slug":"former-reality-tv-host-tests-positive-for-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1189","title":{"rendered":"Former Reality TV host tests positive for COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Boston Globe – By\u00a0Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller\u00a0Associated Press, Updated October 2, 2020,\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump said early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans, said he and Mrs. Trump were quarantining. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties \u201cwithout disruption\u201d while recovering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, Trump\u2019s diagnosis was sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington and around the world, raising questions about how far the virus had spread through the highest levels of the U.S. government. Hours before Trump announced he had contracted the virus, the White House said a top aide who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tonight, @FLOTUS<\/a> and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As too many Americans have done this year, @potus<\/a> & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 2, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and did not appear visibly ill. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president\u2019s physician said in a memo that Trump and the first lady, who is 50, \u201care both well at this time\u201d and \u201cplan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The diagnosis marks a devastating blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them. In the best of cases, if he develops no symptoms, which can include fever, cough and breathing trouble, it will likely force him off the campaign trail just weeks before the election and puts his participation in the second presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami, into doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s handling of the pandemic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Democrat Joe Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware because of the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday night\u2019s debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t wear masks like him,\u201d Trump said of Biden. \u201cEvery time you see him, he\u2019s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no immediate comment from the Biden campaign on whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at the debate with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols. Trump and Biden did not shake hands during the debate, but stood without masks about 10 feet apart for the 90-minute event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

World leaders offered the president and first family their best wishes after their diagnosis, as governments used their case as a reminder for their citizens to wear masks and practice social distancing measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, Trump had been scheduled to receive an intelligence briefing, attend a fundraiser and hold another campaign rally in Sanford, Florida. But just after 1 a.m., the White House released a revised schedule with only one event: a phone call on \u201cCOVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s announcement came hours after he confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of his most trusted and longest-serving aides, had been diagnosed with the virus Thursday. Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private information. She was isolated from other passengers aboard the plane, the person said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hicks had been with Trump and other senior staff aboard Marine One and Air Force One en route to that rally and had accompanied the president to Tuesday\u2019s presidential debate in Cleveland, along with members of the Trump family. The Trump contingent removed their masks during the debate, in violation of the venue rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple White House staffers have previously tested positive for the virus, including Vice President Mike Pence\u2019s press secretary, Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert O\u2019Brien and one of the president\u2019s personal valets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Trump has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened. Since the coronavirus emerged earlier this year, Trump has refused to abide by basic public health guidelines \u2014 including those issued by his own administration \u2014 such as wearing face coverings in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, he has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of often mask-less supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt no vulnerability whatsoever,\u201d he told reporters back in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen the economy without driving virus transmission. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen. U.S. stock futures fell on the news of Trump\u2019s diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions remain about why it took so long for Trump to be tested and why he and his aides continued to come to work and travel after Hicks fell ill. Trump traveled to New Jersey on Thursday for a fundraiser, exposing attendees to the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pence\u2019s aides had no immediate comment on whether the vice president had been tested or in contact with Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is unclear where the Trumps and Hicks may have caught the virus, but in his Fox interview, Trump seemed to suggest it may have been spread by someone in the military or law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very, very hard when you are with people from the military or from law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause we really have done a good job for them. And you get close. And things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House began instituting a daily testing regimen for the president\u2019s senior aides after earlier positive cases close to the president. Anyone in close proximity to the president or vice president is also tested every day, including reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet since the early days of the pandemic, experts have questioned the health and safety protocols at the White House and asked why more wasn\u2019t being done to protect the commander in chief. Trump continued to shake hands with visitors long after public health officials were warning against it, and he initially resisted being tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump is far from the first world leader to test positive for the virus, which previously infected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized last month while fighting what he called a \u201chellish\u201d case of COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there is currently no indication that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Constitution\u2019s 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which the president can declare himself \u201cunable to discharge the powers and duties\u201d of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted \u201ca written declaration to the contrary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would \u201cimmediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President\u201d until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

___<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boston Globe – By\u00a0Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller\u00a0Associated Press, Updated October 2, 2020,\u00a0 WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump said early Friday that he and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-politics","category-presidential-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8VBh7-jb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1393,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1393","url_meta":{"origin":1189,"position":0},"title":"Pro-Trump Project 2025 leader suggests a new American Revolution is underway","author":"Donnie","date":"July 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Va., on June 28.(Steve Helber \/ Associated Press) By\u00a0Ali SwensonJuly 3, 2024\u00a012:33 PM PT NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\u00a0 The leader of a conservative think tank orchestrating plans for a\u00a0massive overhaul of the federal government\u00a0in the event of a Republican presidential win said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1025,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1025","url_meta":{"origin":1189,"position":1},"title":"Trump lawyer met Russian oligarch at Trump Tower","author":"Donnie","date":"May 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By Stephen Braun\u00a0ASSOCIATED PRESS\u00a0\u00a0MAY 25, 2018 JEENAH MOON\/NEW YORK TIMES\/FILE President Trump\u2019s personal lawyer Michael Cohen exited a federal courthouse in April. 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