President Donald Trump announced early Friday he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. The announcement came hours after it was reported that adviser Hope Hicks, with whom he had recently traveled, had been infected.
Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence both tested negative.
Outpourings of support and well-wishes for the president have flooded in for the president, 74. In addition to the concerns about the Trumps’ health, the positive test results raise many questions about the impact the development could have on the presidential election, which is just 32 days away.
The latest:
- The world reacts: The world expressed sympathy as well as a bit of schadenfreude, at the news Trump tested positive for coronavirus.
- Where Trump has been: Trump has been traveling and meeting with people a lot over the past few days, including trips to Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, plus a White House ceremony to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
- Hope Hicks: White House adviser Hope Hicks also tested positive for COVID-19, it was announced Thursday.
- What people said:Rachel Maddow offered sympathy, Julian Castro said “I hope this a wake-up call that this virus is not a hoax or something cured by injecting bleach.”
- Markets headed for a drop: Dow futures – which predict how the Dow Jones Industrial Average will move when the market opens for trading in the morning – fell Friday on news of Trump’s diagnosis. Similarly, futures connected to the Nasdaq and S&P 500 signaled sharp drops.
? 32 days until Election Day, five days until the vice presidential debate, 110 days until Inauguration Day, 91 days left in 2020.
?️ Voting: See USA TODAY’s Voter Guide for information on registering to vote, when your state begins voting and what the candidates think about the issues.
Biden: ‘We will continue to pray’ for Trump and family
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill Biden will “continue to pray” for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump after the tested positive for COVID-19.
“Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family,” the former vice president tweeted Friday morning.
– Sean Rossman
‘We continue to pray’:Joe Biden offers thoughts, prayers to President Trump after coronavirus test
Mike Pence, Karen Pence test negative
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife tested negative for COVID-19 Friday morning, his office announced hours after the president tested positive.
“As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day,” spokesman Devin O’Malley tweeted. “This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.”
– Maureen Groppe
Pences test negative:Vice President Mike Pence, wife, test negative for COVID-19 after president tests positive
Steven Mnuchin tests negative
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tested negative for COVID-19 Friday morning.
“As part of regular protocols, Secretary @stevenmnuchin1 has been tested daily for COVID-19. He tested negative for COVID-19 this morning and will continue to be tested daily,” tweeted Monica Crowley, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Treasury.
– Sean Rossman
Mike Pompeo and wife test negative
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he and his wife both tested negative for COVID-19 on Friday. Pompeo is currently traveling abroad and has not been in recent contact with President Donald Trump.
“I am feeling fantastic. I was tested about 30 minutes ago,” Pompeo told reporters Friday en route to Croatia. He said he has not been with Trump since Sept. 15.
“We’re praying for the President and the First Lady, that they’ll have a speedy recovery,” he said. “I spoke with the vice president’s office this morning as well. We’re taking this, obviously, very seriously, and we’ll do everything we can to keep everyone safe.”
Pompeo said he is reevaluating future travel, including a scheduled trip this weekend to Florida followed by a visit to Asia starting Sunday.
He said his own doctor and the State Department’s medical team has told him it would be “perfectly fine to make both of those trips, but we’re going to continue to look at it.”
Pompeo said he had been cleared to go ahead with meetings in Croatia on Friday.
“We’ve had contact with the Croatians; they seem to understand what we’re doing, and everything seems good,” he said. “But we’re obviously going to make sure that they’re comfortable with what we’re doing as well.”
– Deirdre Shesgreen
Melania Trump: ‘We are feeling good’
First lady Melania Trump said she and President Donald Trump are “feeling good” after the president said the couple tested positive for COVID-19.
“As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & 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,” the first lady tweeted Friday morning.
– Sean Rossman
How people are reacting:Twitter reacts after President Donald Trump announces he and Melania are positive for COVI
Is Trump symptomatic?
Former White House doctor Ronny Jackson told Fox News the president is asymptomatic, but that does not ensure Trump will not develop symptoms in the coming days. About 40% who contract the virus never develop symptoms.
For the 60% of people infected who do develop symptoms, they can experience fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, runny nose, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea.
Because of his age and obesity, Trump is in two very high-risk groups for developing severe symptoms, hospitalization and death.
At 74, the president is five times more likely to be hospitalized and 90 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than someone between the ages of 18 and 29, according to the CDC.
– Elizabeth Weise
COVID-19’s course:President Trump has tested positive for COVID-19. What’s the typical course of the illness?
Impact on the presidential race
Even if Trump is one of the lucky ones, he is expected to have to remain in quarantine until he is no longer contagious, which could take him off the campaign between now and Election Day.
Trump had already canceled a rally in Florida on Friday, and the revelation of his positive result raised questions about his ability to hold rallies, fundraisers and participate in presidential debates scheduled later this month.
The president has tried to keep voters’ attention away from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 200,000 people in the U.S. Polls consistently show voters think Biden is better equipped to handle the outbreak.
The looming fight over the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court offered a perfect opportunity for Trump to fire up his supporters and donors over something that had nothing to do with the virus and its economic fallout.
But Trump’s test result is likely to rob him of the ability to focus the nation’s attention on that fight.
– John Fritze
USA Today
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