There have now been over a dozen people who have tested positive for the COVID during the last three days:
- Donald Trump
- Melanie Trump
- Hope Hicks
- Utah Senator Mike Lee
- North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis
- Kellyanne Conway
- Campaign manager Bill Stepien
- Notre Dame President Reverend John Jenkins
- RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel
- Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson
- Former NJ Governor Christ Christie
- White House Aide Nicholas Luna
- Three White House journalists
- A White House press staffer
The press and the public have received conflicting reports on Trumps' condition and subsequent treatment from his personal physician, the doctors at Walter Reed, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and White House officials. Based on the most credible of these sources, a picture of the timeline is emerging.
From Dr. Sean Conley's briefing on Saturday morning, we know that Trump was diagnosed with coronavirus on Thursday morning. He went to a New Jersey fundraiser anyway, recklessly exposing hundreds of additional people. We don't know if that diagnosis was based on observable symptoms or an actual test. In fact, we still don't know when Trump last tested negative. One of the doctors at Walter Reed told reporters that Trump received a dose of experimental antibody therapy on Thursday morning.
Trump developed a fever on Friday morning, and at some point his blood oxygen level began to drop rapidly-- after which he was given supplemental oxygen while at the White House. White House officials were concerned that Trump would eventually need to go to Walter Reed for treatment-- but to avoid having him transported in a wheelchair or gurney, they decided to call for the Marine One helicopter while Trump could still walk under his own power. At Walter Reed, Trump was given his first dose of remdesivir, and will continue to be on a five-day course of the experimental antiviral medication. Trump later had a fever of 103 degrees and experienced heart palpitations on Friday night.
The "Super Spreader event" where Trump is believed to have caught the virus is the Rose Garden ceremony for Judge Amy coney Barrett on Saturday September 26. A crowd of over 150 Republicans and White House staff were seen without face masks and failing to socially distance themselves-- hugging each other, shaking hands, and sitting shoulder to shoulder for the hour-long ceremony. Attendees were instructed (after entering) they no longer needed to cover their faces, and the no-mask mantra applied inside the White House as well. Cabinet members, senators, Barrett family members and others mixed unencumbered at tightly packed, indoor receptions in the White House’s Diplomatic Room and Cabinet Room.
Attorney General William Barr has foolishly chosen not to quarantine despite clear photographic evidence that he was in close and prolonged contact with several people at the White House who later tested positive. Barr and Kellyanne Conway were seen conversing closely (neither wearing a mask) and Barr was later photographed shaking hands with other guests, touched his face and mingled among the crowd.
Members of the Secret Service (who rarely speak critically of the presidents they serve) expressed “anger and frustration” to colleagues, worried that President Donald Trump’s actions have put them at risk of contracting the coronavirus, too. “He’s never cared about us,” one agent told a friend, who spoke to The Washington Post. Another agent reportedly said, “This administration doesn’t care about the Secret Service. It’s so obvious.” Secret Service agents had complained about not being tested for the virus after returning from multiple rallies with the president in recent weeks.
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