Super-Spreader President Trump Ordered Aides Not Reveal Positive Tests
White House Physicians Misled on Trump Condition
Officials Won’t Answer Basic Questions About When Trump Last Tested Negative or on His Current Condition
Trump, White House Officials Break Isolation to Project Strength, Endanger Even More Americans in the Process
Following Donald Trump hospitalization for COVID-19 on Friday night, new questions have been raised about the timeline of his illness, the cover-up inside the White House that attempted to conceal the diagnosis, and the dire situation Trump has placed the American people in as he continues to downplay the severity of the crisis.
Trump and his allies have lied to the American people, endangered the lives of thousands, and strong-armed his medical team into complying with White House talking points in an effort to project an image that fits with Trump’s long history of ignoring the danger the virus poses.
On Monday evening, Donald Trump took his criminally negligent behavior a step farther by choosing to break isolation and announcing he would leave Walter Reed Medical Center in order to return to the White House. His actions blatantly ignored all medical best practices that have been instituted across the world and endangers everyone forced to come into contact with him.
In that announcement, he told the American people “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.” His words, and his efforts to conceal the severity of his own illness, do a disservice to everyone still battling this crisis and are an insult to the families who are mourning the loss of more than 210,000 dead Americans.
TRUMP-COVID COVER UP: President Trump Told Adviser Not to “Tell Anyone” About Positive Tests
Trump Ordered An Adviser To Not Disclose Their Positive Tests Results.
- “Under White House protocols, the more reliable test that screens a specimen from deeper in the nasal passage is administered only after a rapid test shows a positive reading. Based on people familiar with the matter, the president’s tests followed that protocol. As the virus spread among the people closest to him, Mr. Trump also asked one adviser not to disclose results of their own positive test. ‘Don’t tell anyone,’ Mr. Trump said, according to a person familiar with the conversation.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/4/20]
Trump Tested Positive Thursday Evening And Refused To Disclose It During A Fox News Interview With Sean Hannity.
- “President Trump didn’t disclose a positive result from a rapid test for Covid-19 on Thursday while awaiting the findings from a more thorough coronavirus screening, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Trump received a positive result on Thursday evening before making an appearance on Fox News in which he didn’t reveal those results. ” [Wall Street Journal, 10/4/20]
Trump “Aimed To Keep A Close Hold” On Positive Test Results.
- “Mr. Trump and his top advisers also aimed to keep such a close hold on the early positive results that his campaign manager, Bill Stepien, didn’t know that Hope Hicks, one of the president’s closest White House aides, had tested positive on Thursday morning until news reports later that evening, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Trump campaign said Friday evening that Mr. Stepien had tested positive.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/4/20]
CREDIBILITY CRISIS: Attempts to Mislead Americans on Trump Condition Follow Months of Lies, Downplaying
President Trump’s Attending Physicians Are Giving An Inconsistent Portrayal Of His Condition.
- “[White House physician Sean] Conley and two other physicians treating Trump gave an upbeat but incomplete characterization of his condition. Outside doctors said they were mystified by what they said was an inconsistent portrayal of the president’s illness as relatively mild despite the aggressive mix of treatments he is getting. The president’s medical team was at times cryptic: Asked whether CT scans showed any signs of pneumonia or lung damage, Conley replied, ‘Yeah, so we’re tracking all of that. There’s some expected findings, but nothing of any major clinical concern.’ He declined to elaborate. At another point, Sean Dooley, a pulmonary critical care doctor, said the president’s ‘cardiac, liver and kidney function demonstrates continued normal findings, or improving findings.’ He did not disclose which of those had been subpar.” [Washington Post, 10/4/20]
White House Physician Sean Conley Failed To Disclose That President Trump Needed Supplemental Oxygen Or A Steroid Reserved For Critically Ill Patients.
- [Dr.]Conley’s handling of the situation has come under intense criticism after he gave a rosy pronouncement of Trump’s status Saturday without disclosing that the president had been given supplemental oxygen or put on a steroid reserved for severely ill coronavirus patients. The White House physician finally disclosed those details Sunday, acknowledging that Trump’s oxygen level had dropped at one point. He said that he had not shared the information initially because he did not want to cause alarm.” [Washington Post, 10/4/20]
White House Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows Anonymously Contradicted The Physicians’ Assessments, Creating Confusion About The Severity Of Trump’s Illness.
- “Conley and the White House have come under intense criticism after Chief of Staff Mark Meadows provided an anonymous statement to reporters on Saturday saying that Trump had a ‘very concerning’ period on Friday, contradicting the more rosy assessment Conley had provided in a television briefing just moments earlier.” [Axios, 10/4/20]
The White House Is Under Fire For Trying To Make President Trump Appear Healthier Than He May Be.
- “The White House also came under fire for seemingly trying to edit a cough out of a video the president tweeted, and for appearing to stage quick photo ops of the president at Walter Reed to show him at work, including one that showed him signing a blank page of paper. (Two pictures taken 10 minutes apart showed Trump in different clothing and different settings.)” [Politico, 10/4/20]
MORE CONFUSION THAN CLARITY: When Did Trump Really Know He Was Infected?
Fox News’ Chris Wallace Reported That Trump Was Not Tested At The Tuesday Debate In Cleveland Because He And His Family Showed Up Late.
- “Trump attended the presidential debate in Cleveland. Members of the Trump family and other guests of the president did not wear masks in the debate venue, despite being asked to by Cleveland Clinic staff. Debate moderator Chris Wallace said on Fox on Friday that Trump wasn’t tested before attending the debate because he arrived late. Instead, organizers relied on the honor system, he said.” [NPR, 10/4/20]
Trump’s Medical Team Suggested That President Trump Might Have Been Diagnosed As Early As Wednesday Afternoon.
- “[White House physician Sean] Conley and Trump’s medical team also sent shockwaves through the White House and political landscape with their timeline of Trump’s first positive coronavirus test. During the briefing, Conley said it had been 72 hours since Trump was diagnosed with Covid-19, suggesting Trump knew about his status on Wednesday, well before he revealed it overnight Thursday into Friday. That would mean Trump had gone on with his normal schedule, traveling and working in close proximity to aides and staffers, for well over a full day.” [Politico, 10/3/20]
WILDFIRE: The Virus Continues to Spread Among Trump Insiders and GOP Leaders as a Direct Result of President Trump’s Propaganda and Attempts to Downplay Virus
In Addition To Trump And The First Lady, 3 GOP Senators, Trump’s Campaign Manager And Multiple Aides And Advisors Have Become Infected With COVID-19.
- “Monday — 12 members of Trump’s circle now have covid: – Donald Trump – Melania Trump – Hope Hicks – Kellyanne Conway – Ronna McDaniel – Mike Lee – Thom Tillis – Bill Stepien – Ron Johnson – Chris Christie – Nick Luna – Kayleigh McEnany.” [Twitter, @davidmackau, 10/4/20]
The September 26 White House Gathering For The Nomination Of Amy Coney Barrett To The Supreme Court, That Flouted Social Distancing And Mask-Wearing, Likely Ignited An Outbreak In The Republican Party.
- “A week ago, more than 100 people gathered in the White House Rose Garden to celebrate President Trump’s third nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. Guests mingled, hugged and kissed on the cheek, most without wearing masks. An indoor reception followed the outdoor ceremony. Seven days later, at least eight people who were at the ceremony have tested positive for the coronavirus, including a journalist who was covering the event. Several more of the president’s closest aides and advisers have also tested positive.” [NPR, 10/5/20]
Two White House Residence Staff Members Have Tested Positive Amid Trump Outbreak — And Were Told To Use “Discretion” In Discussing Their Diagnoses.
- “More info on 2 White House residence staff members who tested positive – they worked for the housekeeping department on the third floor, and didn’t come in direct contact w the first family. When their tests came back positive, they were told to use ‘discretion’ in discussing it.” [Twitter, @maggieNYT, 10/5/20]
Trump’s Propagandistic Car Ride To Create Illusion Of His Own Health Needlessly Exposed Secret Service Agents To The Virus, Put Their Lives At Risk.
- “Multiple Secret Service agents are criticizing President Trump’s brief appearance in an SUV outside Walter Reed Medical Center Sunday evening, accusing the president of putting his protective detail in unnecessary danger. ‘He’s not even pretending to care now,’ an agent who requested anonymity told The Washington Post. ‘That should never have happened,’ another unidentified agent, who works in both the presidential and first family detail, told CNN. ‘The frustration with how we’re treated when it comes to decisions on this illness goes back before this though. We’re not disposable.’” [The Hill, 10/5/20]
On October 5, Trump Announced That He Was Leaving The Hospital And Recklessly Told The Country Not To Be Afraid Of COVID-19, A Disease That Has Killed 210,000 Americans In Eight Months.
- “I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!” [Twitter, @realDonaldTrump, 10/5/20]