Sam Tapper – Managing Editor
President Donald Trump has consistently downplayed the severity of COVID-19 since it became a daily talking point in early 2020. Now, Trump is one of the 7.64 million Americans who have tested positive and there is a lot to unpack with this situation.
First, comes the health of the president and the First Lady. Regardless of which way you vote, a sitting president contracting a deadly disease is a critical historical event as well as a somewhat of a crisis.
Next is the obvious: the irony. Support him or not, it’s undeniable that Trump has consistently downplayed the severity of the virus, which Bob Woodward revealed the president knew back in February and still purposly did nothing to act.
Even just days before his positive test at the Presidential Debate, Trump mocked his opponent, no longer Democratic Nominee former Vice President Joe Biden, for his use of masks. As Biden pointed out in the debate, Trump has said the virus will blow over since March, how it will disappear by Easter, then by the summer. Well, it is now October, COVID-19 is still a continuing crisis and Trump now has it.
All that aside, the biggest and most complex circumstance around Trump’s positive test is his administration’s response, or lack thereof, to the American people. Originally, Trump tweeted on Oct. 2 just shy of 1 a.m. that he and the First Lady had tested positive.
Originally, Trump’s administration told us that the President as well as the First Lady got tests for precautionary reasons, because senior counselor Hope Hicks had tested positive and had been in close contact with the Trumps.
Now this is where things get messy. According to a timeline released by Forbes, the Trump Campaign knew of Hicks’ condition, elected to proceed with their fundraiser in New Jersey despite knowing the president was exposed to the virus, offering no official comment about Hicks’ positive test.
After Trump was taken to Walter Reed Medical Center when experiencing “mild symptoms,” officials from the White House and the Trump Administration began their overflow of contradiction. White House Physician Sean Conley said in a press conference that the president was “doing great,” while Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that the president’s vital signs were “very concerning” and that there was “no clear path to recovery” immediately after Conley spoke.
Later that day, Conley suspiciously would not answer on whether the president had a low blood oxygen level despite reports of him needing more supplemental oxygen.
The next day, Conley caused confusion after suggesting the president tested positive a day before originally reported.
Conley later expanded more on Trump’s health and the president was released from Walter Reed days later. But the concern is in the opacity.
As Americans, we all have a right to know of the president’s health, and we still do not know the state of his health. after his hospital stint. We have a right to know about this COVID-19 case. affecting him.
