Donald and Melania Trump Test Positive for COVID-19
Early Friday, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter he and First Lady Melania have tested positive for COVID-19.
“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Trump tweeted. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”
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
Despite controversial statements on COVID-19 that downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic, gave mixed messages on the importance of face masks, and touted information about potential COVID-19 treatments and vaccine progress that health experts refuted, Trump said he will quarantine.
The news follows an earlier announcement that Hope Hicks, Trump’s senior aide, tested positive for the coronavirus. She had traveled with the president several times in the past week. After Hicks was diagnosed, Trump tweeted that he and Melania were waiting on test results.
“Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19,” Trump said. “Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!”
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
Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis is one of more than 7.3 million confirmed cases in the United States, according to John Hopkins’ COVID-19 dashboard. In the U.S., nearly 208,000 people have died from COVID-19. The United States continues to have the highest case count and highest death rate worldwide.
According to the Associated Press, Trump’s physician said both the president and first lady are doing well at the moment and plan to remain at home in the White House while they recover. “Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering,” the physician added in a memorandum.
Other world leaders and their families, including U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, were previously diagnosed with COVID-19 and have since recovered.
Header image via The White House from Washington, DC / Public domain
Renée Fabian was the features editor at The Mighty. She has also written for The Washington Post, VICE, Healthline, Talkspace, The Fix, The Establishment, The Culture Trip, and GRAMMY.com, among others. Renée was named a 2019 AHCJ Comparative Effectiveness Research fellow, a 2020 USC Center for Health Journalism California fellow, and holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. You can follow her on Twitter @ryfabian.
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