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WASHINGTON: News of President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis has disrupted the US presidential election campaign entering its final month and affected stock markets, raising questions about succession and leading to White House advisers to insist that Trump would keep a busy schedule, if it changed. .
Trump’s diagnosis was announced early Friday morning (October 2), but a close adviser to the president tested positive a day earlier. Over the weekend, more prominent Republicans were added to the list of those who tested positive for COVID-19.
WHO IN THE TRUMP CIRCLE HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19?
Hope Hicks, a close adviser to the president who often traveled with him on presidential planes Air Force One and Marine One, tested positive for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus on Thursday.
After Trump tweeted that he and his wife, Melania, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday morning, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who has had frequent contact with Trump, said she tested positive for the virus. and was quarantined at her home in Michigan.
This combination of archival footage created on October 3, 2020 shows (from left to right, top to bottom) US President Donald Trump, US First Lady Melania Trump, former Communications Director Hope Hicks, US Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, former Senior White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, US Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, US Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, and Chairman Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien. As of October 3, 2020, all nine tested positive for COVID-19 in the past two days. (Photos: VLADIMIR SIMICEK, Mandel NGAN, Saul LOEB, Brendan SMIALOWSKI, Eric BARADAT, Ozan KOSE, Olivier DOULIERY / AFP)
LEE: Trump says he feels ‘much better’ after treatment with COVID-19, ‘real test’ in the coming days
Other prominent Republicans who have also said they have tested positive for COVID-19 since Trump’s announcement include: Republican Senators Mike Lee, Thom Tillis and Ron Johnson, former White House Senior Adviser Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, 42-year-old Bill Stepien and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Christie said she checked into a hospital Saturday as a precautionary measure due to her asthma, though she said she only had mild symptoms.
READ: Former White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway tests positive for COVID-19
Trump and some other Republicans have avoided social distancing, wearing masks and other protocols that health officials recommend to stop the spread of the virus.
In an update from Trump on Saturday, he said in video from his hospital room that he was feeling “much better” and hoped “to be back soon.” But this came after a day of mixed messages from the White House about his condition following his COVID-19 diagnosis.
US President Trump walks toward the Marine One helicopter as it departs for Walter Reed Medical Center from the White House in Washington.
LEE: Trump is improving but doctors were ‘very worried’: White House chief of staff
A team of White House doctors said Saturday morning that Trump’s condition was improving and that he was already talking about returning to the White House. One doctor said that Trump had told them he “could get out of here today.”
Within minutes, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows gave reporters a less optimistic assessment.
“The president’s vital signs over the past 24 hours were very worrying and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We are not yet on a clear path to a full recovery,” he said.
Meadows, whose initial comments were provided on the condition that he was not identified, changed his tone hours later, telling Reuters that Trump was “very well” and that doctors were “very satisfied with his vital signs.”
Meadows did not clarify the discrepancy in its comments.
READ: What is President Trump’s COVID-19 treatment plan?
In recent months, other Trump and White House campaign staff who tested positive for COVID-19:
– US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien in late July. Prior to the Trump infection, O’Brien was the highest-ranking administration official to test positive for the virus. O’Brien had mild COVID symptoms and returned to work on August 4.
– Katie Miller, a spokesperson for Mike Pence, wife of Stephen Miller, a senior Trump adviser, in early May, forcing Pence to slightly delay a trip from Pence to Iowa.
– Kimberly Guilfoyle, senior Trump campaign advisor and girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr.
– Tom Phillipson, former acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers in early June. He told the Wall Street Journal about his infection after recovering and leaving the White House in late June.
READ: COVID-19: White House National Security Council tells staff members to wear masks in common areas and avoid the West Wing
– A member of the U.S. Navy who served as Trump’s personal valet tested positive in early May. The infection prompted daily tests for those who worked at the White House.
– A U.S. Marine assigned to Trump’s helicopter squad tested positive for the coronavirus in late July. The squad transports Trump and other senior White House officials aboard the Marine One helicopter.
– A worker in the cafeteria of the White House complex tested positive in late July. The cafeteria is located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where some White House officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, have offices.
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