{"id":169852,"date":"2020-10-05T12:01:45","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T11:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=169852"},"modified":"2020-10-05T09:55:50","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T08:55:50","slug":"donald-trump-tests-positive-for-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/10\/donald-trump-tests-positive-for-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Trump\u2019s Covid-19 Diagnosis Reshapes Election a Month from Vote<\/em><\/p>\n<ul class=\"abstract-v2\">\n<li class=\"abstract-v2__item\">\n<div class=\"abstract-v2__item-text\"><em>President will likely have to cancel events, may miss debate<\/em><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"abstract-v2__item\">\n<div class=\"abstract-v2__item-text\"><em>Biden faces pressure to navigate new dynamic: a sick opponent<\/em><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>2 Oct 2020 &#8211;<\/em> Donald Trump\u2019s Covid-19 diagnosis has dramatically altered the closing weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign, with the president now facing not only an unprecedented health challenge but also logistical and staffing chaos about a month before Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>The White House announced Friday evening that Trump would spend the \u201cnext few days\u201d at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland after receiving an experimental antibody cocktail. The president\u2019s hospitalization came after his campaign announced it was canceling political events or making them virtual for the foreseeable future, including planned visits to key battlegrounds such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms and has been working throughout the day,\u201d White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said. \u201cOut of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump leans on his in-person political events to raise cash and create enthusiasm among supporters as he tries to make up ground against Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who leads in polls and fundraising in no small part due to the president\u2019s response to the virus now afflicting him.<\/p>\n<p>Trump had hoped to turn the focus of the final weeks of the campaign away from the pandemic and toward his Supreme Court nominee, the economic recovery and civil unrest &#8212; issues where he believes he holds an advantage. Yet without his signature rallies and other public events that he uses to draw media attention, it will be harder to close the gap with Biden. The former vice president has held a steady lead of about 7 percentage points in national polls for some time.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the weeks ahead are sure to be dominated by constant discussion of Trump\u2019s health, turning attention back to a pandemic most Americans think he\u2019s mishandled.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"2633\" class=\"figure-expandable\" data-align=\"center\" data-id=\"365046354\" data-image-size=\"full\" data-image-type=\"photo\" data-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"image\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open image in viewer\">\n<div id=\"lazy-img-365046354\" class=\"lazy-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy-img__image loaded aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.bwbx.io\/images\/users\/iqjWHBFdfxIU\/iRxEBk2xMMDo\/v0\/800x-1.jpg\" alt=\"President Trump Announces His Supreme Court Justice Nominee\" data-native-src=\"https:\/\/assets.bwbx.io\/images\/users\/iqjWHBFdfxIU\/iRxEBk2xMMDo\/v0\/-1x-1.jpg\" data-img-type=\"photo\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"news-figure-caption-text caption\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Donald Trump departs with his Supreme Court justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett, at the White House on Sept. 26<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"news-figure-credit credit\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Photographer: Stefani Reynolds\/Bloomberg<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The political concerns are only compounded by the immediate risk of the virus to Trump, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-10-02\/trump-s-age-and-weight-make-covid-particularly-dangerous\" title=\"Trump\u2019s Age and Weight Make Covid Particularly Dangerous\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">74-year-old<\/a> now fighting a disease that has killed more than 200,000 Americans since February. Even if the president\u2019s infection doesn\u2019t progress beyond the mild, cold-like symptoms the White House has revealed, he\u2019ll be challenged to keep both the public and financial markets calm as he tries to wage his come-from-behind campaign while sequestered.<\/p>\n<p>The S&amp;P 500 Index dropped nearly 1% Friday, and crude oil prices tumbled in a volatile session.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s announcement that he was infected came hours after a Bloomberg News report that <span id=\"08ad5998-04fd-11eb-8e7a-000f53570e20\">Hope<\/span> Hicks, one of his closest aides, had fallen ill with the virus.<\/p>\n<p>There are implications for Trump\u2019s Democratic challenger, too &#8212; beyond inserting a major new variable into an already unpredictable race.<\/p>\n<p>Biden proceeded cautiously with planned campaign travel to Michigan on Friday, after receiving a pair of negative coronavirus tests earlier in the morning.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"990\" class=\"figure-expandable\" data-align=\"center\" data-id=\"365046286\" data-image-size=\"full\" data-image-type=\"photo\" data-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"image\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open image in viewer\">\n<div id=\"lazy-img-365046286\" class=\"lazy-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy-img__image loaded aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.bwbx.io\/images\/users\/iqjWHBFdfxIU\/iBO.OzlwdFlk\/v0\/800x-1.jpg\" alt=\"First Presidential Debate Between Donald Trump And Democratic Candidate Joe Biden\" data-native-src=\"https:\/\/assets.bwbx.io\/images\/users\/iqjWHBFdfxIU\/iBO.OzlwdFlk\/v0\/-1x-1.jpg\" data-img-type=\"photo\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"news-figure-caption-text caption\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Donald Trump, left, and Joe Biden take part in the first U.S. presidential debate on Sept. 29. Photographer: Morry Gash\/AP Photo\/Bloomberg<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The challenger will need to strike the right tone, making sure not to appear to revel in his opponent\u2019s illness while continuing to assail the president\u2019s attitude and policies toward the virus. The Biden campaign is pulling negative advertising, according to a person familiar with the plans.<\/p>\n<table>\n<colgroup>\n<col class=\"news-rsf-table-string\" \/><\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"news-rsf-table-string\">More Trump-virus coverage<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"news-rsf-table-string\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-10-02\/trump-says-he-and-flotus-tested-positive-for-covid-19\" title=\"Trump Tests Positive for Covid, Roiling Campaign and White House\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trump Tests Positive for Covid, Roiling Campaign and White House<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-10-02\/trump-infection-puts-large-retinue-of-white-house-aides-at-risk\" title=\"Trump Infection Puts Large Circle of White House Aides at Risk\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trump Infection Puts Large Circle of White House Aides at Risk<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Read scrolling news coverage of the pandemic<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-10-02\/trump-s-age-and-weight-make-covid-particularly-dangerous\" title=\"Trump\u2019s Age and Weight Make Covid Particularly Dangerous (2)\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trump\u2019s Age and Weight Make Covid Particularly Dangerous <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-10-02\/putin-hails-trump-s-vitality-amid-well-wishes-trump-update\" title=\"Putin Hails Trump\u2019s \u2018Vitality\u2019 Amid Well Wishes: Trump Update\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Putin Hails Trump\u2019s \u2018Vitality\u2019 Amid Well Wishes: Trump Update<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>In Michigan, Biden called the diagnosis a \u201cbracing reminder to all of us\u201d to take the virus seriously, and he urged Americans to wear masks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBe patriotic,\u201d Biden said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about being a tough guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the past, presidents have seen their poll numbers improve in the aftermath of health scares, and the president could be rewarded if voters rally around him. President Ronald Reagan\u2019s approval in the Washington Post-ABC News poll rose 11 percentage points after a failed assassination attempt early in his first term.<\/p>\n<p>U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson &#8212; who battled the virus in April &#8212; saw a sharp increase in popularity after his diagnosis. More than half of Britons &#8212; 51% &#8211; said they had a favorable opinion of the prime minister in the day after his infection, up 17 points from the previous month, according to Ipsos MORI.<\/p>\n<p>But U.S. voters may have a different outlook on Trump, who has flouted the advice of public health authorities. The president seldom wears a mask and he had defiantly resumed holding large campaign rallies, even when state and local officials have implored him not to. In a Reuters poll released earlier this week, just 41% of voters said they approved of the way Trump was handling the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>And the president is likely to face criticism for his decision to travel Thursday to New Jersey for a fundraiser at his Bedminster golf course &#8212; despite Hicks testing positive for the virus and displaying symptoms aboard Air Force One the previous night. Despite that exposure, Trump pushed ahead with travel in which he shared enclosed spaces with key staffers and Republican donors.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-10-02\/trump-donor-says-president-was-reckless-to-attend-fundraiser\" title=\"Trump Donor Says President Was \u2018Reckless\u2019 to Attend Fundraiser\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trump Donor Says President Was \u2018Reckless\u2019 to Attend Fundraiser<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy urged attendees at the fundraiser \u201cto take full precautions, including self-quarantining and getting tested.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_169853\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-white-house.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-169853\" class=\"wp-image-169853\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-white-house.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-white-house.jpg 860w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-white-house-300x136.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-white-house-768x348.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-169853\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Donald Trump exits Marine One at the White House after returning from Bedminster, New Jersey, on Oct. 1. Photographer: Drew Angerer\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n<p>McEnany held a briefing for White House reporters Thursday [1 Oct] morning at which she didn\u2019t wear a mask, even after having close contact with Hicks the day before. She said Friday that she was not aware before that briefing that Hicks had tested positive.<\/p>\n<p>McEnany was seen wearing a mask at the White House on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Biden and Trump sparred over virus precautions, including mask-wearing, during Tuesday\u2019s debate in Cleveland, with the former vice president calling the president a \u201cfool\u201d and \u201ctotally irresponsible\u201d for discouraging preventive measures. Trump responded by mocking his Democratic challenger for being too cautious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t wear masks like him,\u201d Trump said. \u201cEvery time you see him, he\u2019s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>ALSO SEE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/all-the-times-trump-downplayed-covid-19-right-up-until-thursday-night?ref=home\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trump Was Still Downplaying COVID Right Up to Thursday\u00a0 [1 Oct] Night <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Trump\u2019s diagnosis could prove especially tricky because of the president\u2019s public messaging about the virus. He has urged Americans to return to work and school, frequently downplaying the risk that any individual will get infected or die.<\/p>\n<p>Trump could also face a dilemma over whether to withdraw from the race if his health deteriorates. In 2016, after the release of the \u201cAccess Hollywood\u201d tape, senior Republicans investigated the logistics required to replace Trump atop the ticket with Mike Pence.<\/p>\n<p>But this year, more than 30 states have already sent ballots to voters, with more kicking off early voting in the coming days. And White House officials on Friday dismissed the notion Trump could be replaced.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s physician said early Friday he expected \u201cthe president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.\u201d But the implications of the diagnosis are far-reaching.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear but unlikely that Trump can participate in the second presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15. The president\u2019s campaign didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment about its plans, but if Trump is forced to pull out of the debate, it could deprive him of one of his final opportunities to highlight his contrasts with Biden before a large television audience.<\/p>\n<p>The president\u2019s diagnosis is also expected to have a significant impact on campaign and White House staff, who &#8212; if they follow existing federal health guidelines &#8212; may need to quarantine for the next two weeks.<\/p>\n<p>The president, First Lady Melania Trump, and Hicks traveled with a large cadre of White House and campaign staff to the debate in Cleveland, with the president and Hicks also attending political events Wednesday in Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>Those spotted in the president\u2019s company in recent days include campaign manager Bill Stepien, senior aides Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller, as well as top communications aides Jason Miller and Kayleigh McEnany.<\/p>\n<p>The diagnosis may also hamstring Trump\u2019s ability to raise cash for the final weeks of the campaign, even as Biden\u2019s campaign set another fundraising record in September, surpassing the unprecedented $365 million it raised in August. Trump fell $154 million short of Biden in August, and his campaign has pulled back on television advertising in swing states even as the Democrat fills the airwaves.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has tried to bridge that gap with high-dollar in-person fundraisers. His luncheon event Thursday in New Jersey raised $5 million, according to a Republican official.<\/p>\n<p>_________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><em>With assistance by Tyler Pager, Jennifer Jacobs, and Jordan Fabian<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-10-02\/trump-s-covid-19-diagnosis-reshapes-election-a-month-from-vote\" >Go to Original &#8211; bloomberg.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2 Oct 2020 &#8211; Donald Trump\u2019s Covid-19 diagnosis has dramatically altered the closing weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign, with the president now facing not only an unprecedented health challenge but also logistical and staffing chaos about a month before Election Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":169853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[867,1829,1868,392,1864,249,70],"class_list":["post-169852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anglo-america","tag-anglo-america","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-elections","tag-pandemic","tag-trump","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}