Just after midnight Friday, President Donald Trump tweeted that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.
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
The news comes the same week the world surpassed 1 million COVID-19-related deaths, with the United States ranking as the country with the highest death toll. Currently the U.S. death count hovers around 208,000, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
Trump’s announcement came hours after tweeting Hope Hicks tested positive for the virus. Hicks was the White House communications director from August 2017 to March 2018 and now serves as an aide to senior adviser Jared Kushner, the husband of daughter Ivanka Trump.
Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020
In addition, COVID-19 was a topic during this week’s presidential debate. “I think masks are OK,” Trump said. “I put a mask on when I think I need it.” Moments later, he went on to mock former Vice President Joe Biden: “I don’t wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from you and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.” Trump did not wear a mask in public until July, four months after initial lockdowns across the country.
According to White House physician Dr. Sean Conley, “The president and first lady are both well at this time.”
At 74 years old, Trump is vulnerable. The CDC says the risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age. At this point, it is uncertain how extensively the positive test result will affect his health and campaign.
