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WASHINGTON: White House officials sought to project an air of business as usual on Friday (Oct. 2) despite President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, but attendees privately expressed concern over the presidential election and showed signs of growing concern about the coronavirus.
“The government’s business continues,” economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters after Trump revealed on Twitter earlier in the day that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Trump flew by helicopter to Walter Reed Medical Center for early evening treatment. But staff members said he would continue to work from a special suite there and that he had been involved in the government throughout the day. He did not transfer power to Vice President Mike Pence.
“We’re just trying to make sure he takes it easy, but he’s working hard and will continue to do so,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox.
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Trump spoke with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, McEnany said, and discussed the emergency declarations and the coronavirus stimulus package with Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. .
“His first question for me this morning was, ‘How is the economy doing, how are the stimulus talks on Capitol Hill going?” Meadows told reporters outside the White House, adding that he had already spoken to Trump several times. .
Privately, some Trump advisers were concerned that Trump’s illness could cost him the presidential election in just 31 days.
“It clearly changes the dynamic that we can travel and show enormous energy and support for the rallies, which has been part of our calculation just like 2016,” said a Trump adviser.
READ: US Vice President Pence Tests Negative for COVID-19: Spokesperson
The president’s upcoming election events were postponed or moved online. Trump was scheduled to hold a “Make America Great Again” rally in Florida on Friday night, two in Wisconsin on Saturday and one in Arizona on Monday.
On Friday, seeing more White House personnel in masks than usual, including Press Secretary McEnany at night, was taken as a sign that coronavirus risks were being taken more seriously. Communications Advisor Hope Hicks and First Lady Melania Trump also tested positive.
READ: US President Trump and his wife Melania test positive for COVID-19 after a senior adviser contracted the virus
Some in Washington speculated that Trump’s events on Saturday to announce Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court could have spread the virus.
In addition to Trump and his wife, aides Ronna McDaniel, Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Lee, a Republican Senator, and University of Notre Dame President the Rev. John Jenkins all tested positive for the coronavirus.
When Trump told the country that the coronavirus would “go away,” White House officials and many Republican politicians have avoided the use of masks and other protocols that health officials recommend to stop the spread of the coronavirus. On Saturday, members of Congress and White House officials met Barrett inside and sat nearby in a ceremony in the rose garden, many without masks.
Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger, who oversees the National Security Council, was one of the first and most consistent mask wearers in the White House. He was previously mocked by some staff members behind his back for wearing a mask at work, a person familiar with the matter said.
READ: Biden starts campaign after negative test for COVID-19
NSC staff have been ordered to wear masks in all common areas of the White House and to avoid unnecessary visits to the west wing, according to an internal email on Friday.
The White House recommends masks and distancing, an official said Friday, but they are not required.
During his talk with the press on Friday, a reporter asked Kudlow without a mask why he was not setting a good example for the public. Kudlow responded by donning a paper surgical mask. “Okay, are we okay?” Kudlow said. “I have put on the mask.”
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