3 GOP Senators, Trump Campaign Manager, Multiple Aides Infected
Active Military Members Infected, Members of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff Forced to Quarantine
123 Capitol Hill Front-Line Workers Tested Positive or Presumed Positive
Restaurant Workers in Minnesota, White House Residence Staff, Journalists Forced to Quarantine After Being Exposed to Infected Republicans
The worsening outbreak at the White House didn’t have to happen, but for months President Trump undercut the experts, downplayed the science, and flouted social distancing guidelines meant to keep Americans safe. It’s no surprise that his own administration is now suffering the consequences of President Trump’s reckless actions.
Multiple members of the President’s inner circle, Republican officials, White House residential staff, and workers across the country are now among the nearly 8 million Americans who have been infected by COVID-19. But rather than empathize with the mass suffering that he created, President Trump has recklessly returned to the White House from Walter Reed and continues to downplay the threat of the virus, likely making the outbreak even worse.
Trump’s Failure to Take the Virus Seriously Created a Full Blown COVID-19 Outbreak at the White House, in the Republican Party, and Among Trump’s Inner Circle
Three Republicans Senators — Ron Johnson, Mike Lee And Thom Tillis — Have Been Infected By COVID-19.
- “Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has tested positive for coronavirus after being exposed to someone with the virus earlier this week, according to his spokesman, making him the third GOP senator to test positive in 24 hours and threatening the quick confirmation prospects of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court…Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sit on the Judiciary Committee, tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday — just days after attending a White House event where President Donald Trump nominated Barrett..” [CNN, 10/3/20]
First Lady Melania Trump Tested Positive For COVID-19.
- “President Donald Trump announced in a tweet early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have both tested positive for COVID-19. While few details were originally shared about the couple’s diagnosis, Melania Trump has now revealed a bit more, saying on Twitter that she’s experiencing ‘mild symptoms’ but still ‘overall feeling good.’” [CBS News, 10/2/20]
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany And Three Of Her Deputies Tested Positive For COVID-19.
- “A third White House press staffer has tested positive for coronavirus, meaning three of McEnany’s deputies are now working from home. The West Wing press areas are essentially being run by a skeleton crew because of the recent outbreak.” [Twitter, @kaitlancollins, 10/6/20]
Trump’s Campaign Manager Bill Stepien, Who Traveled To The Cleveland Debate With Trump, Tested Positive For COVID-19.
- “Stepien received the results of the test on Friday night and is suffering from what the official described as ‘mild flu-like’ symptoms. Stepien traveled to Cleveland with the President and his team on Tuesday for the first presidential debate and was seen in close proximity to Hope Hicks, the President’s top aide who also tested positive.” [CNN, 10/3/20]
Trump Advisor Kellyanne Conway Tested Positive For COVID-19.
- “Kellyanne Conway, until recently one of President Trump’s most visible aides and staunchest defenders, announced on Friday night she had ‘tested positive for COVID,’ becoming at least the 10th person who was in the White House to come down with the illness this week.” [Yahoo News, 10/3/20]
Trump Advisor Hope Hicks Tested Positive For The Virus After Traveling On Air Force One With Trump To The Cleveland Debate And To Minnesota.
- “President Trump and the first lady are quarantining and being tested for the coronavirus after a close adviser to the White House, Hope Hicks, has tested positive for the virus. Hicks is considered one of the president’s closest allies and traveled with him on Air Force One both to Tuesday night’s debate and to a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.” [NPR, 10/1/20]
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel Tested Positive For COVID-19.
- “Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, has tested positive for coronavirus, an RNC spokesman announced Friday. ‘After a member of her family tested positive for COVID-19, the Chairwoman was tested for the virus. On Wednesday afternoon, she got confirmation she was COVID-19 positive. She has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday,’ RNC spokesman Mike Reed said in a statement.” [CNN, 10/2/20]
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Who Last Week Participated In Debate Preparation With Trump, Tested Positive For COVID-19 And Checked Himself Into A Hospital.
- “Chris Christie checks into hospital after testing positive. Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who for several days this week helped the president prepare for the debate, said he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Mr. Christie announced his condition on Saturday, becoming the latest of several Trump associates to get a positive test result.” [New York Times, 10/4/20]
Nicholas Luna, An Assistant To Trump And One Of Trump’s “Body Men”, Tested Positive For Covid-19.
- “One of the White House aides who works closest to President Donald Trump has tested positive for coronavirus, two White House officials confirmed to CNN. Nicholas Luna, an assistant to the President, acts as one of his ‘body men,’ whose job is to accompany the President throughout the day and night, putting him in close proximity to Trump, who announced early Friday morning he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive.” [CNN, 10/4/20]
University of Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins Tested Positive for COVID-19 After Attending The September 26 Amy Coney Barrett Nomination Event At The White House.
- “University of Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins has tested positive for COVID-19, the school announced Friday. According to the school, Jenkins was in self-isolation this week after learning that a colleague ‘with whom he has been in regular contact’ tested positive for the virus. A subsequent test revealed that Jenkins had also tested positive for the virus.” [ABC10, 10/2/20]
Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California Tested Positive for COVID-19 After Attending The September 26 Amy Coney Barrett Nomination Event At The White House.
- “NEWS: @NYMag has confirmed that Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California has tested POSITIVE for COVID-19. Pastor Laurie was at the Prayer March on the Mall with Mike Pence and Franklin Graham and the ACB Rose Garden event later that day.” [Twitter, @olivianuzzi, 10/5/20]
Trump’s COVID-19 Cover-Up Spread the Virus to Active Military Members and Created a National Security Crisis
Vice Commandant Of The US Coast Guard, Adm. Charles Ray, Tested Positive For COVID-19, Forcing Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley And Several Members Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff To Quarantine.
- “The top US general, Gen. Mark Milley, and several members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are quarantining after a top Coast Guard official tested positive for coronavirus, several US defense officials tell CNN. The Vice Commandant of the US Coast Guard, Adm. Charles Ray, tested positive on Monday. ‘On Monday, the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Charles Ray, tested positive for COVID-19. He was tested the same day, after feeling mild symptoms over the weekend,’ the Coast Guard said in a statement Tuesday.” [CNN, 10/6/20]
- “BREAKING: CBS News reports top U.S. military officials quarantined after COVID19 exposure:Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Army chief of staff Naval Operations Chief Air Force chief of staff CyberCom Commander SpaceForce operations chief.” [Twitter, @DavidBegnaud, 10/6/20]
A Trump Military Aide And A Valet, Who Is Also Active Duty Military, Tested Positive For COVID-19.
- “NEWS: One of the president’s military aides, Coast Guard aide Jayna McCarron, has coronavirus, sources tell me. And so does one of the president’s valets, who is also active duty military, and traveled with the president last week.” [Twitter, @JenniferJJacobs, 10/6/20]
Trump Exposed Nonpolitical White House Staff, Journalists, Workers and More Unsuspecting Americans Across the Country
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]
123 Front-Line Workers At United States Capitol Complex Have Tested Positive Or Are Presumed Positive For COVID-19.
- “New: There are now 123 front-line workers in the Capitol complex who have have tested positive—or are presumed positive—for COVID-19, according to House Admin GOP Spokesperson Ashley Phelps. Story coming.” [Twitter, @ChrisMarquette, 10/6/20]
Thirteen Restaurant Workers In Minneapolis Are Quarantining After Catering Trump’s October 1 Fundraiser In Sherwood, Minnesota.
- “Thirteen workers at a Minneapolis steakhouse were quarantining after the restaurant catered a private fundraiser attended by President Donald Trump during his visit to Minnesota last week, the restaurant said Monday. The food workers are employed by Murray’s Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, which catered the fundraiser on Wednesday at the Lake Minnetonka home of Marty Davis, CEO of the quartz countertop manufacturer Cambria. About 40 contributors paid $200,000 a couple or $100,000 per person for the chance to meet the president and hear him speak.” [CBS News, 10/6/20]
Three Journalists Who Had Been In Contact With White House Staffers Tested Positive For The Virus.
- “Three journalists, including New York Times correspondent Michael D. Shear, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, as did a White House staffer who works with the press. The new infections prompted another round of anxiety and cautionary notes among those who cover the president. The White House Correspondents’ Association urged its members to steer clear of the press room and the small warren of workspaces behind it inside the West Wing unless they have urgent business.” [Washington Post, 10/6/20]
Schools In New Jersey Have Instructed Students To Quarantine If Their Parents Attended Trump’s October 2 Bedminster Fundraiser.
- “The event, at Trump’s golf course in the tony town of Bedminster, is now being investigated by state officials looking into whether it violated New Jersey’s COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings. ‘That trip was completely unacceptable, completely reckless and uncalled for,’ New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said Monday. Some locals are up in arms. Area private schools have sent out ‘urgent’ emails informing students to stay home if their parents attended the fundraiser.” [NBC News, 10/6/20]
Vice Commandant Of The US Coast Guard, Adm. Charles Ray, Tested Positive For COVID-19 A Week After Attending An Event With Trump And Gold Star Military Families At The White House.
- “Adm. Charles W. Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, first tested positive for the virus on Monday, said Rear Admiral Jon Hickey, a service spokesman. It is not clear when or where the admiral was infected, but his travels in recent days include attending a Sept. 27 event at the White House recognizing Gold Star military families and a meeting at the Pentagon on Friday with the military’s top generals.” [Washington Post, 10/6/20]