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The two men had been chatting live on Fox News for ten minutes when Hannity said, “By the way, some news broke tonight.”
Hannity requested an update and Trump’s response is now preserved for history, as his last public statement about the virus before his diagnosis was also made public.
“He tested positive. I just found out. He tested positive,” Trump said.
He didn’t elaborate on when he found out, but he made it sound like newsflash, and if it’s true, and maybe even more so if it’s not true, that impression he gave is relevant to the timeline of the spread of the Covid-19 inside Trump. circle.
“She is a great worker,” Trump said, “a lot of masks, wears a lot of masks. But she tested positive.”
Trump may not have had that intention, but his use of the word “but,” saying that Hicks used to wear a mask “but tested positive,” is in line with his long-expressed skepticism about masks. It is also, as he should know, contrary to the point of wearing a mask, which is primarily to protect an infected user from spreading the virus to others.
Then, in the call with Hannity, Trump offered information about his own health: “I came out with the test, I’ll see, because, you know, we spent a lot of time, and the first lady just went with a test too.” She seemed to recognize close contact with Hicks. “So if we quarantine her or if we have her, I don’t know,” he said.
On the phone with Hannity, Trump then laid out something that amounts to a defense of Hicks and any other White House aide who tests positive for the coronavirus: “You know, it’s very difficult, when you’re with soldiers, when you’re with airmen, When you’re with the Marines and the police officers, I’m with them a lot. And when they come up to you, it’s very difficult to say, ‘Stay back, stay behind.
He laughed a little. “It’s a difficult situation,” he said, “it’s a terrible thing. So I went to do a test and we’ll see what happens. I mean, who knows.” That’s a default statement from Trump, “we’ll see what happens,” which he sometimes just uses to fill in the space between sentences.
“You know Hope really well, she’s fantastic,” Trump continued, “and she’s done a great job. But it’s very, very difficult when you’re with people from the military or law enforcement, and they come to you and they want to hug you and kiss you because we really did a good job for them. You come closer and things happen. “
Trump flipped this explanation – actually an excuse to challenge social distancing guidelines – for the third time: “You have to treat our people well. You can’t say ‘Stay away, stay away.’ They come to you, they love what we’ve done for them. There’s so much love. You have to treat our people very well. “
Then Trump began answering a question from Hannity about vaccines and therapies. Trump said generically that “I think vaccines are coming fast,” then unsubstantiated that some drug companies don’t want to provide a vaccine until after the election for political reasons.
Trump concluded by saying again that he was waiting for the result of his test: “I will receive my test tonight or tomorrow morning, but I spend a lot of time with Hope and also the first lady, and she is tremendous.” She said: “I was a bit surprised” when Hicks tested positive, and again justified her socialization: “She is a very warm person, she has a hard time, when soldiers and law enforcement approach her, you know, she wants treat them well, don’t say, ‘Stay away, I can’t get near you.’ It’s a very, very hard disease. “
There was a note of resignation in his voice when he said “it is a very, very hard disease.”
Hannity then steered the conversation into much happier territory for Trump: the bogeyman of voter fraud.
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