by Daveda Gruber:
Early on Friday President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.
This puts the Trump campaign into turmoil.
Hours after his long-time aide Hope Hicks fell ill with the virus, Trump and his wife were tested.
The White House canceled previously scheduled campaign events in Florida on Friday that include a Make America Great Again rally that was planned to take place outside Orlando.
Former White House doctor Ronny Jackson was reported to have told Fox News on Friday morning that Trump was asymptomatic.
He predicted that the president would “weather this storm.”
Jackson said, “I will bet you that he does not develop symptoms, that he moves on and this does not become a big deal.”
Trump will quarantine in the White House with the First Lady.
The president is now scheduled to hold a phone call on COVID-19 support for vulnerable seniors this afternoon.
Trump tweeted this early today:
Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020
Melania tweeted this:
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.
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 2, 2020
So far, Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence have tested negative.
Pence tweeted this:
Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) October 2, 2020
White House spokesman Judd Deere said, in a statement, that the president “takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.”
Deere said, “White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidelines and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling.”
I’d like to take this time to wish the President and the First Lady a speedy recovery.
Did the positive results throw a wrench into the Trump campaign plan? Yes, it did but I believe that they will scramble and recover their footing.
