Trump said he and the first lady tested positive for coronavirus

“Tonight, LFLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,” The President tweeted Before 1 a.m. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We get this amount! “

President Physician, Sean P. Conley, Trump and his wife wrote minutes later that “they are fine at the moment, and they plan to stay home inside the White House during recovery”.

The president is expected to hold official and political events from his residence – including a Friday call with senior citizens about the coronavirus.

The diagnosis was a jolt to the country’s leadership and some advisers discussed early Friday about the government’s continuation to make the president’s situation worse. The vice president is not known to be infected.

Trump’s morning announcement marked an extraordinary turn for the first family, coming less than a month before election day, and Trump stepping up his campaign in an attempt to capture Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who is leading in national and key state elections. Trump, aides and voters say he has largely lagged behind in handling the virus, which has dominated voters’ attention, along with the economic collapse caused by the pandemic shutdowns.

The virus could further challenge Trump’s re-election bid, as advisers hope to close the gap in the coming weeks with an aggressive travel schedule and the message that the coronavirus has largely passed.

Since late Tuesday, Trump has appeared with thousands of people at a rally in Minnesota, discussing Biden on stage and conversing with a group of aides and political advisers at the White House. There was no immediate response from Biden’s camp on whether he was tested.

After White House officials learned of Hicks’ traits, Trump and his entourage traveled to New Jersey on Thursday to address a fundraiser at his golf club in Bedminster. Trump has been in touch with dozens of other people, including campaign supporters, at the roundtable event.

Officials said the president was not wearing a mask on Thursday, including incidents at his golf course and on the plane. He was tested after returning to the White House, but he also appeared on Sean Hannity’s TV show by telephone from residence.

Two people who spent time with him said he showed no recognizable symptoms and was in a spirited mood, although he later admitted to other assistants Thursday that Hicks was ill.

A senior administration official said at the end of Thursday that the White House was unaware of any additional positive cases, although aides were being tested and contacts were found. Some aides are expected to stay home for the foreseeable future, with presidential and political travel canceled, officials said.

Despite the stubborn high-profile cases, the president has openly put forward the need to fully reopen the country, hoping that the resulting economic benefit and the potential for nationwide optimism will increase his election chances. The infected president may be concerned nationally about the reopening of businesses and schools – two key issues from the president as the disease spreads.

Despite the virus outbreak across the country, Trump continues to hold large events inside and outside the home, with more and more people unmasked together to greet the president. The Washington Post reports that some members of the Secret Service were infected with the virus while preparing for the presidency.

Trump regularly appeared publicly and privately without a mask – and mocked Biden for wearing it and blocking his campaigns just for safety. Although medical experts say the virus can infect anyone, the president insisted that the virus mostly affects the elderly – a group he belongs to – or those with health problems. Trump has publicly and privately clashed with many medical professionals in his administration over how to take the White House virus seriously.

Trump took his usual optimistic tone about the virus during his pre-speech to a Catholic charity dinner in New York on Thursday night. “And I want to say that the end of the epidemic is in sight, and next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country,” he said.

In recent months, Trump has said he has not particularly cared about the virus to others, after initially showing some fear, officials said. Many of Trump’s aides have also withdrawn masks at West Wing presidencies and tours.

For months, aides have been urging Trump to be more careful around him, taking the temperature of visitors entering the White House complex, restricting access to the Oval Office, and inspecting those close to him daily, and the use of masks on the West Wing. Mask use has dropped in recent months, officials say, and temperatures have not yet been checked, although people around the president have yet to be tested. Diagnosis is likely to cause additional concerns about the rapid testing system at the White House, which has a lower accuracy rate than most intrusive tests.

Attendees at events with the vice president and president are not tested for the virus or need to take their temperatures. Pence expressed sympathy for Trump on Friday morning.

“Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and LFLOTUS Melania Trump,” He tweeted. We pray for the full and speedy recovery of millions across America. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania. ”

Hicks is among Trump’s closest staff and regularly enters the Oval Office several times a day, meeting with White House and campaign aides.

She was spotted on several occasions, along with other top aides, without a mask.

Hicks traveled to Pennsylvania with the president for a rally on Saturday, to Cleveland for the first presidential debate on Tuesday, and to Minnesota for another campaign rally on Wednesday. An official said early Friday that Hicks had been widely around the president and top political advisers preparing for the debate in recent days.

She was photographed unmasked at the Village People’s “YMCA” at the Pennsylvania rally with other Trump aides and on Tarmac, who was removing Air Force One in Cleveland.

She got a positive test after she started showing symptoms at a rally on Wednesday. A man familiar with the situation said Hicks was detained on a return flight from Minnesota.

Hicks, 31, left for Fox News in March 2018 as Trump’s 2016 campaign spokesman and later as White House communications director from the start of his candidacy. She returned to the White House in February in the role of councilor to the president.

Trump told Sean Hannity of Fox News in a live interview Thursday night that he and the first lady had been tested after learning about Hicks and were looking forward to the results.

“She tested positive and I left with a test … so I don’t know if we quarantined or if we had it,” Trump said. “I went for a test and we’ll see what happens. Anyone know?… We’ll spend more time with Hope, so let’s see what happens.”

After Trump, she and the First Lady tweeted, “At this point, we will begin our quarantine process.”

Hicks suggested Trump could make it a deal from members of the military or law enforcement.

“It’s very difficult when you’re from the military, or with law enforcement, and they come to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you because we’re really good at them,” the president said. “You get close, and things happen. .I was shocked to hear with Hope, but she was a very warm person with them. She knew there was danger, but she was small. ”

Following Hicks’ confirmation, White House spokesman Judd Deir said the president was taking the matter “seriously.”

“The president takes his health and safety very seriously and everyone who works in support of him and the American people,” Deer said. “The White House Operations Officer cooperates with the President and the White House Military Office to ensure that all plans and policies are in line with current CDC guidance and the best practices to limit COVID-19 exposure and the best practices to limit the President’s travel.”

Hicks, a White House aide who tested positive for wicks. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller caught the virus in May and Kimberly Gilfoyle, a friend of Trump’s fundraiser and president’s son Donald Trump Jr., was infected with the virus in July. Prior to Hicks, Robert O’Brien, National Security Adviser in late July, was the most senior White House official to test positive.

The White House conducts daily coronavirus tests for aides, journalists, and others who come in contact with the president. But public health experts warn that they are not foolproof and that masks and social distance are still the best protection against the virus.

During Tuesday’s debate, Trump insisted on holding massive campaign rallies where no one is required to wear face shields or stay socially isolated.

“We have no negative impact, and we have 35 to 40,000 people from some of these rallies,” Trump said.

Biden fired back: “He treated people with social distance and masks completely irresponsibly, basically not encouraging them.” He’s a fool on this. “

Trump replied: “If you could get crowded, you would do the same. But you can’t. Nobody cares. “