Top Trump aide Hope Hicks tests positive for coronavirus
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hope Hicks, one of President Donald Trump's closest aides, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Hicks, who serves as counselor to the president and traveled with him to a rally Wednesday, tested positive Thursday, according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private health information. She is the closest aide to Trump to test positive so far.
The White House did not immediately respond to multiple questions about the last time Trump was tested and whether he and other staffers who spent time with Hicks in recent days will be asked to quarantine.
In a statement, White House spokesman Judd Deere said, "The President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously."
"White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling," Deere said.
Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a Minnesota rally Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night's first presidential debate.
Hicks, one of the president's most trusted aides, previously served as White House communications director and rejoined the administration this year ahead of the election. Her positive test was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Multiple White House staffers have tested positive for the virus, including Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, national security adviser Robert O'Brien, and one of the president's personal valets.
After earlier positive cases close to the president, the White House instituted a daily testing regimen for the president's senior aides. Others who will be in close proximity to the president and vice president, including reporters, are also tested every day.
UPDATE: Both Donald and Melania Trump have tested positive for the Coronavirus.
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The White House did not immediately respond to multiple questions about the last time Trump was tested and whether he and other staffers who spent time with Hicks in recent days will be asked to quarantine.
I wonder if she was showing symptoms and that had her take the test.
People with access to the President are tested daily.
The answer is yes, she was showing symptoms.
Tested for just COVID or everything else too?
Thanks for the info Sister.
I just heard on TV that Trump said he is waiting for the results of his COVID tests but will start self quarantining. I would think that Pence will be tested as well.
oh no! the covfefe virus has mutated into an STD.
I am pretty sure that Hick's has had many other diseases as well.
Nothing. Just a misogynistic cheap shot post aimed at an attractive woman who is of a different political persuasion
The Kiss of the Spider Woman is a killer...
Am hoping Hicks does not have any serious consequence.
But, I do wonder why Hicks sticks with Trump. Does she believe and support his agenda and style of governance? If so, why?
She said she just loves the attention and excitement of the WH.
"Working" at Fox in a corner office was boring and unchallenging - even though the $$ was the same.
So in other words Hicks lacks any moral convictions?
She was in a long term romantic relationship with Corey Lewandowski. Does that answer your question ?
Ewwwww.
She works for Trump doesn't she?
For the same reason that 63,000,000 + other people do.
Three million less than felt otherwise in 2016.
Trump just tweeted that he and Melania are beginning the quarantine process.
I bet that he will sneak out to play golf.
Alone?
lol
trumpturd is a Typhoid Mary
One public health expert I just heard on TV said Trump should quarantine, but he may not need 14 days. I'm certainly no expert, but I think Trump should be in solitary confinement... 20 to life?
I'm going straight to hell for laughing at that, aren't I?
Only because I could hear you over 5 miles away, lol.
That is so funny!
I've been told that I can have a rather boisterous laugh, but that's just downright embarrassing...
No - there will be many stops and detours along the way.
Disturbing the peace does not sentence one to hell sister.
I'll save you a seat at the bar
It was just now reported on CNN that Nancy Pelosi has been placed under the protection necessary when the POTUS cannot fulfil his duties for a certain period of time.
Thank gawd
Trump may have the virus. The world breathlessly awaits the news.
If his test is positive, do you think he would admit it? Not in a million years...unless of course, announcing it to the public would have personal value to him.
I have to agree.
Wow! Doesn’t time just fly?
We have learned about fake news, from the best....
This is not good news. He's elderly, obese, and probably has other health condiditons. What happens if he gets really sick? Pence takes over? What about the election? Will Pence be the automatic Rep nominee? YIKES!!!!!!!!!!
Yes.
No. The Republican National Committee will need to vote on a new candidate and the states would need to reprint all their ballots. It would be a complete mess.
I'm so glad I can converse with the big brains here. You answered my question.
And now another question...do you really think that the RNC will go to that kind of expense or just choose a running mate for Pence?
I would think trumpturd also has high cholesterol and high blood pressure related to his fat disgusting sloppy ass.
Same answers as evilgenius gave, and I agree, will be a mess. As TiG indicated below, this will no doubt sway the election in the democrats favor no matter what happens, at least as far as the executive branch goes. I'm concerned that they may have infected others in the Whitehouse as well, and maybe even Biden if they got any closer than it appeared during the debate. If Biden gets sick too, can you imagine the mess that will make of the election? Let's hope it all works out and the spread is contained.
I read that Biden got tested and is negative. But he needs to get another test done in about a week just to be sure,.
I don't think that this gives Biden a win. Like I said yesterday, there is an element in this country that will vote for him even if he is too frail to leave his sick bed.
I'm not counting my chickens
Well that's good! I hope he manages to stay healthy.
Well nothing is certain, that is for sure, as we all learned in the last election. I usually have a pretty good handle on predicting political winds (especially since Trump's "wind" was particularly foul), but I was as surprised as everyone else at the outcome of that election. This election is a bit different in that there are external issues which are adding uncertainty, not just the nasty political wrangling that has characterized more recent elections.
Like the stench from the Pine Bluff paper mills that works its way to my door 70 miles away
Is the Trump still taking the Hydroxychloroquine? If so he is safe, right?
And 'the World' breathlessly awaits for the moment when Trump tucks tail and wanders away for the last time.
Where's his bleach?
I'd be happy to chip in for a bottle of clorox and a box of syringes...
Didn't he say that the hydroxy would prevent it?
Look for bottles of bleach piling up in front of the White House barrier
No joke right now. I am seriously worried that Trump was spewing his infectious aerosol particles all over Biden when he was yelling during the debate.
That's certainly a point worthy of consideration. The man was without a doubt, spitting mad.
I just heard that a reporter on this last rally run was supposed to accompany Joe Biden on his rally tour beginning tomorrow. Biden's camp has requested that the reporter self-quarantine instead of traveling with them.
I heard that report, too. It's a sensible precaution.
oh gawd.....
I think Joe was far enough away from the trumpturd and trumpturd was not hovering behind him like a vulture like when he 'debated' Hillary
I just read that Biden was tested and was negative
Too soon to tell.
I have to say, the administration is finally throwing out a positive vibe...
Lol, subtle ...
Here's a weird scenario that just popped into my mind.
Trump knows he's loosing.
Trump says he tests positive and can't continue.
Pence becomes POTUS.
Pence pardons Trump.
Trump moves to Russia to avoid extradition from NY prosecution leaving his kids to hold the bag.
Just stop it. Stop being so positive.
I am tired of getting let down.
: )
Oh - what if Pence, busy with the new responsibilities of office, does not get around to pardoning Trump or his brood. There's not really a down side for him.
it's probably the only option to salvage his wrecked political career ...
Trump will hand Pence two pieces of paper at the same time, a letter of resignation and his pardon papers. He won't let Pence leave the oval office without signing it. posting an armed guard if necessary.
And then Pence gets to run for office...doesn't he? How does this work?
New report. Hicks tested positive last night. Trump met privately with campaign donors today. Trump didn't know about her last night? If this is all true, there is something very, very wrong.
Apparently she tested positive this morning.
OK I just have to mention this. Fox News is not talking about this at all. What's up with that?
see no evil hear no evil speak no evil
FOX is awaiting the final 'Putin Spin'. Murdoch doesn't desire to upset or upstage the most important paying clients.
If that sentence could scream, it would be screaming, "Yep, he has it!"
It’s literally the top story on their website...
and then turn on the tv and it’s scrolling by on the chyron during a rerun of tucker carlson...
Work on your conspiracies so they aren’t easily debunked.
Sean, I was watching Fox News and it wasn't talked about for the 10 min I was watching. Come on.
Were you watching a live show? Because it’s on the chyron as breaking news.
Turns out, trump actually announced it on Hannity tonight..
Please drop this conspiracy nonsense.
I was at the time. I always go through all the major channels for a few minutes to get a broad view. I kept waiting for them to say something and just gave up.
I call that, dedication.
I don't watch any of them any more. They all get on my nerves.
I've been known to have a slight addiction to CNN.
I liked Cuomo yet now I just tire of all the bombastic reporting.
You've got to be kidding. Much of their audience is "older" and less likely to spend a lot of time on websites.
It wouldnt surprise me one bit if Fox News Channel was playing this down.
There are literally 5 Fox stations I can watch.
You are much more likely to get honest news from a local affiliate that really cares about reporting the news.
just saying.
It's not happening on Earth 2.
LOL.
Actually they were all over it and are live news now that the President and First Lady tested positive for the China virus
Trump tested positive for the Corona virus
No such thing as the China virus......
But there are at least 168,000 dead from the lack of response that equates to the Trump virus.
That makes about as much sense as calling the Hong Kong Flu the Lyndon B. Johnson flu that killed about 100,000 Americans.
Only when you don't think it through Dean.....
I'd be surprised if Hicks tested positive for honesty.
But she is purdy.
A prerequisite for working for Trump is being willing to lie for Trump. Honesty is a dirty word around this administration. If you start being honest you're immediately labeled a disgruntled employee and fired.
She was interviewed by Mueller, so we know she has lied for Trump.
"White House communications director Hope Hicks did what for the Trump White House was extraordinary, if not unprecedented: She admitted to lawmakers that working for President Trump required her to lie."
Trump told the Al Smith dinner tonight (remotely) that the end of the epidemic is in sight...
On 20JAN20 when Biden is sworn in, I'd agree that there will be a plan put in place that could mark the end of the epidemic.
So why does Biden want people to die needlessly? If he knows how to stop it, he should share it with world right now.
France could really use some help right now.
"To the DeLorean Marty" LMAO
Projection.
Biden has been releasing plans since January. Trump ignored them as did you.
He's not president.... but he will be.
For god sakes Sean.... you know damn good and well how this virus could have been better mitigated as far back as February. Trump had the information and failed to mobilize America to fight it properly.
Do the math and compare Germany's virus death rate against ours and adjust for population size. You'll find that 173,000 Americans are dead because Trump's lack of leadership by comparison.
Cite the plan Biden released that will stop the coronavirus.
Why isn't the rest of the world following Biden's genius plan? Shame on the leaders of Europe and the rest of the world facing rising cases after Biden already may clear how to stop the virus.
So that means he should keep his plan secret and let people die? Seems like any decent person who knows how to stop the virus would tell the world about it immediately and let credit fall where it may.
Trump had the information and failed to mobilize America to fight it properly.
The only thing that works would have been going full China, declaring martial law and cordoning off New York and New Jersey in February and letting it burn through those areas while limiting exposure to the rest of the country. Just imagine if he'd tried that.
We are too open of a country with too much travel between areas for any "plan" to have stopped the virus once we were heavily seeded in January and February. We were hit too hard, too early in New York to have any real chance of stopping such a contagious virus
Here we go again with the 'stop the virus' bullshit.
The job of leadership is to MITIGATE the effects on their citizens. Trump has FAILED to do so and in fact, Trump failed to follow his own Administration's guidelines.
Biden put out a plan on his website in JANUARY. Go read it.
It is Trump letting people die needlessly.
Triple bullshit Sean..... because of it's borders with other countries and proximity to Italy, Germany had a much more difficult challenge in getting control it its infection.
Besides Trump had a 2-3 week advantage in time mobilize the country once we saw the hell Europe was going through. He was still at the point of “You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero,”. Zero leadership Sean in the matter Sean. 172,000 needless deaths at the hands of Trump, and you still don't care that it should have been avoided.
I can always count on you and yours to limit their understanding of an issue to 'black and white' and to avoid facts.
The first positive test was in Washington State. 2 weeks later there was evidence of community transmission on the WEST COAST.
There were NO cases in NY or NJ in February. When a case was confirmed in NY on MARCH 1st, the person had returned from Iran, NOT China. Rhode Island's first case on MARCH 1st had traveled to Italy, NOT China. NC's first case was from community transmission to a person who had traveled to Washington State.
2 weeks later all but 5 states had confirmed cases.
While you may think that the only thing that would have worked is martial law, there are actually a plethora of actions that could have been taken, within the gray area that you don't seem to recognize even exists. Any thinking person could review the CDC's guidelines released in March to confirm that fact.
Perhaps, but that would happen thanks to all the groundwork previously accomplished by Team Trump.
Since that was the topic, nice deflection.
en put out a plan on his website in JANUARY. Go read it
Classic Dulay, always demanding others provide cites and never able to do it himself. Post the plan.
ause of it's borders with other countries and proximity to Italy, Germany had a
total nonsense. This isn't 1840. Austria and France were Germany's geographic buffers, and Germany shut its borders before it was seeded like Spain, the US and Italy.
ad a 2-3 week advantage in time mobilize the country once we saw the hell Europe was going through
The virus was already out of control in New York by then.
o, he didn'172,000 needless deaths at the hands of Trump, and you still don't care that it should have been avoided.
You can make up any numbers you want, but understand they have no basis in reality.
n always count on you and yours to limit their understanding of an issue to 'black and white' and to avoid facts.
and I can always count on you and yours to avoid reality and try to distract with hand waving. Here are the facts. New York was the primary seeder of the country, including the west coast. .
were NO cases in NY or NJ in February. When a case was confirmed in NY on MARCH 1st
Do you ever think things through? Do you think the case magically developed and was confirmed on March 1? There was widespread transmission in Feb, which is what made the massive March official numbers (which still dramatically undercounted the actual number of cases) possible. You should read some basic backgorund information on how the virus spreads. It might lead you to an informed opinion.
Any thinking person could review the CDC's guidelines released in March to confirm that fact.
Any thinkig person would understand it was too late in March to stop the virus. That's the topic, remember?
You can't do math Sean? Those extrapolated deaths of 172,000 are based in FACT.
What the hell happened to you Sean, you use to be good at this......
[Deleted]
If Trump had led efforts towards mask wearing and social distancing in March, we would be much like Germany.... fighting local flare-ups rather than the full fledged viral conflagration we are today in the US.
Extrapolated from what? Seems like you had Trump kill 5000 or so overnight if I remember your rant from yesterday correctly.
Show your math...
Germany population: 82,000,000.
Covid deaths in Germany: 9586 (they had 15 deaths yesterday BTW)
Germany's population is 25.6% that of the United states 320,000,000
Extrapolation: 9586 German Deaths x 3.9024 = 37,409 deaths when adjusted for population differential.
Deaths in the US this morning: 210,874
Difference due to Trump lack of leadership: 210,874 - 37,409 = 173,465 US deaths.
Their medical system is just as capable as ours, and they have the same tools as we do..... The difference is Angela Merkel is a leader, where Trump isn't.
The topic is Hick testing positive.
Obtuse.
Why are you pretending that you asked me to provide the plan Sean. Is it because you're desperate to make this personal?
In the time it took you to make your false claim about me, you could have googled Joe Biden's website for yourself.
Here's a summary from Fortune magazine that even you can understand:
he difference is Angela Merkel is a leader, where Trump isn't.
I see.. So Merkel is responsible for German deaths because she's not the leader Viktor Orban is in Hungary or Alexander Lukashenko is in Belarus. Per your understanding of disease mitigation, Lukashenko, who told his people to drink vodka and take saunas to fight the virus, exemplifies real leadership, since Belarus has had less deaths per capita than Germany.
And boy, Merkel will really cringe when she looks at Nigeria's numbers. Why couldn't the German medical system handle the virus as well as Nigeria, do you imagine?
Showed you the math Sean..... now you are running from the data.
[Deleted]
[Deleted]
Hindsight is 20/20 and........well you know
Though Trump doesn't. All he sees in hindsight is the 'perfection' of his actions and the 'GREAT!' job he think's he's done. Trump takes no responsibility and denies any mistakes.
That's NOT 20/20 hindsight, that reflects a life in a self serving bubble.
Nonsense. I'm embracing it. I've shown you how idiotic it is.
You've literally argued yourself into claiming a man who told his country to drink vodka to fight the virus is a better leader than Angela Merkel.
That was so much fun Sean..... lets do some more!
How about infection rate by state per 100k people....
The uploaded image is fuzzy, but the attached link is clear...... Fourteen red states have a higher rate of Covid infection than New York which comes in at fifteenth. Got to ask why red states currently have higher infection rates don't you Sean...? Maybe because they don't follow CDC recommendations, but follow Trump's lead of fighting wearing of masks and social distancing.
So bottom line.... Your savior Trump is continuing to prove he could give a shit about lives lost, and you are all in on deflecting from that fact.
That is total bullshit. Dulay always backs up her stuff
Why don't you choose deaths per 100K people? Oh, that's right. You switch from deaths to infections based upon your partisan needs. Infections, rather than deaths, look better for your side so you abandon the argument you used against Trump just above.
Fourteen red states have a higher rate of Covid infection than New York which comes in at fifteenth
Think this through for a second. New York has the second highest death rate in the country, right behind it's blue state neighbor New Jersey? Why is it's death rate so high? I know Cuomo killed some seniors with his his "put covid positive people into nursing homes" plan, but that only explains part of it. I assume, based upon your silly Merkel analogy you would argue Arkansas (with about 1/4 the death rate) and the red states simply have better leadership then New York. Or is consistency not your thing?
Maybe Arkansas has significantly better health care? Is that your explanation?
Or, and strap on your hat, maybe New York and New Jersey were hit with a onslaught of cases early in the pandemic that they weren't able to test for and left those states "infection" counts significantly lower as a percentage of the actual spread of the disease than those states who were slammed a little later?
So what is it? Your original position that better leadership in red states accounts for the difference, or better health care in red states or a larger undercount of infections in New York than in other states?
ur savior Trump is continuing to prove he could give a shit about lives lost
Maybe you should try and prove that and not what you actually proved that red states governors are better leaders than blue state governors. If you stand by your argument about Merkel, blue state governors killed tens of thousands needlessly. Although, after being embarrassed by it once already, I assume you've abandoned it.
Either way, please explain why New York, has so many more deaths per capita than states like Arkansas. Is it, as you claim, because red states have real leaders and New York doesn't?
Except she didn't provide the plan from January.
Math really isn't your thing is it Sean....? Guess you do have something in common with Trump.
And you like Trump would ignore it too..... So why waste the time on you?
Own it...... 210,000 Americans are dead on Trump's watch, and he doesn't care, and neither do you it seems.
It's not his fault. I've been tutoring him in math
I wasn't aware that Biden was the Democratic nominee in January. But he did lay this out in March (and this is from Dulay's link)
"I laid out back in March exactly what we should be doing and again in July what we should be doing," Biden said. "We should be providing all the protective gear possible, the money the House has passed in order to be able to go out and get people the help they need to keep their businesses open."
I'm not going to cut and paste everything, so I suggest you actually go click on Dulay's link and read it for yourself
Nice attempt to weasel out of a losing argument. I know you can’t salvage your argument and you know you can’t salvage your argument. Better to admit it than carry on like this. If you are that upset that you need to deflect and make a bogus claim to Try and feel better about yourself, I guess that’s what you have to do.
But my math is, of course, fine. If it wasn’t you’d happily point it out. But you can’t.
I have the advantage of not being a fanatic, so I can let the numbers tell the factual story. You let your hatred of trump lead you into making arguments you can’t support. Then you have to end with juvenile insults because it’s all you have left.
And that groundwork would be.....? Try to be specific with the details Greg.
Where the hell is your math Sean.....? Please point it out for all of us to see.
Show us how 210,874 Americans didn't die on Trump's watch from Covid.
BTW.... I can't help but notice you're only response is deflection at every turn. Your pucker factor that Trump is really turning out to be the loser as advertised must have you at a 10 out of 10.
Hell, with some of the Trump supporter around her, I bet we could shove a piece of Kingsford up their asses, and they'd press us out diamonds.
Sean again with the NY/NJ BS. It gets so tiresome. First of all, we were never told that we had the Italian version of the virus. Second, we are the largest international hub. Third, we were the first to be hit massively. Forth, in the nursing homes, it was the staff that was spreading the disease. That being said, the number of dead in nursing homes was 6,661 out of a total of 32,768 death or about 20%. On the other hand, Florida death rate in nursing homes is at 50% with 4,232 deaths in nursing homes. And you know why? Because the staff is spreading the disease, so Florida has not learned from our mistakes.
So you can go on with your NY mantra, but the numbers don't lie.
never told that we had the Italian version of the virus.
what does that matter? If you thought it came from Italy you would have acted differently?
Se cond, we are the largest international hub.
yes, that’s why it was seeded early. Is this supposed to cut against what I said?
Third, we were the first to be hit massively.
Of course, you are repeating what I said
Because the staff is spreading the disease, so Florida has not learned from
please prove that. Not that it matters. I’m just curious where that comes from.
your NY mantra, but the numbers don't lie.
Well, as to Nursing homes in New York they do. Remember, ny is the only state that doesn’t count the deaths of nursing home residents that die in in the hospital as nursing home deaths. So you aren’t making an apples to apples comparison.
to quote on of your reps:
That’s a problem, bro,” state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, a Democrat, told New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker during a legislative hearing on nursing homes earlier this month. “It seems, sir, that in this case you are choosing to define it differently so that you can look better.”
Quibbling over the nursing home dodge is a red herring. The real question is why New York’s total death rate compared to almost every other state is so high. It’s either because New York healthcare is incompetent, or New York significantly undercounted it’s actual number of infections compared to other states.
Given that New York City had almost 2 million cases just by itself by the end of April, the answer is obvious. I don’t know why it’s so difficult to admit New York had a massive outbreak.
im the one arguing New York’s infected haven’t died at a staggering Rate, it’s much closer to average then those who think the official numbers are accurate representations of reality.
I'm beginning to think you don't understand the word "math." Which part of the deaths per capita is hard for you to figure out? Here they are for every country in the world, and the math is already done!
Given your claim that deaths per capita is the gold standard for leadership, I'm still waiting for you to explain why Germany and Merkel can't do as a good a job as a man who told his people to drink vodka and take saunas to avoid the virus. If Merkel had only done that, think how many Germans would be alive.
Show us how 210,874 Americans
That's not math. That's a number and I didn't dispute it.
't h elp but notice you're only response is deflection at every turn.
I'm addressing your silly little argument and exposing it's fraudulent nature. That's not deflecting. Nor is it Math. You see, a principled argument is one you can apply to different circumstances. For instance, if deaths per capita proves something about leadership regarding Trump and Merkel, then it must also apply to Merkel and the leaders of Hungary, Belarus and Nigeria. Unfortunately, your only principle is to find a number to use against Trump and then run away from it when it's applicability is tested.
m p is really turning out to be the loser as advertised must have you at a 10 out of 10.
Again, you don't seem to understand I'm not a knee jerk partisan like yourself. I think Trump is going to lose and made a substantial bet on Bovada a couple weeks ago to that effect. I let the numbers guide my opinions, you just cherry pick whatever you think makes orange man look bad in the moment.
It's just amazing how contagious this thing is.
It is, isn't it? Stephen King couldn't have written it as well
I'm sure that the vaccine Putin sent the President will give him some protection. Still you never can tell about the side effects when you skip most of the testing steps.
I see he tested positive after all.
TRUMP TESTED POSITIVE
Announced by Trump
Wow. Just wow.
this should be the end of his career as president
how could you vote for someone who was so careless he got himself infected
So you’re saying that everyone who gets the disease from China got it because of their own carelessness? Really?
You are going to run around with xenophobic tropes? Really?
Trump has been careless about covid and now he caught it. [Deleted]
Where did the virus originate?
Last we all heard it was first seen in.....
Wuhan, China
Is this true?
Asswipe. Neglecting any protocol, flaunting any rule. Serves him right.
They both have it.
Yes. They also showed Kushner huddling with Hicks yesterday.
I've noticed that they've been rather close lately...you know, when you see one you see the other.
Ivanka is broken hearted.
I'm not certain, but I have noticed that Hope Hicks seems to be interchangeable with Ivanka. I always see Trump with one or the other, but seldom do I see them together. Trump seems to have a softer touch with Hope Hicks than he has with anyone else, and that includes Ivanka. BTW, if you ever have an opportunity to pull up a photo of Mary Trump, a photo of Hope Hicks, and a photo of Don Jr., the (family) resemblance becomes worth a small mention.
You're not suggesting Trump is Hope's daddy are ya?
I'm certain I'm being ridiculous. But it might be possible that Hope's mother has some explaining to do. As much as Trump has thrown his pecker around, it's plausible that there might be unknown Trumps running around.
That's not good now the Kushner children may get it. I may not like their parents but I haven't nothing against the kids. I also hope Barron doesn't get it
CNN reported that Barron has so far tested negative.
Good. He didn't pick his parents
None of the trumpturd family picked their parents.
You have to wonder how many of the wives/children/all the trumpturd family - have been exposed?
I feel no sympathy whatsoever for the adults, including the wives and crazy bitch Guilfoyle, Don Turd, Jrs., skank ho, but all those children would have to have been exposed.
Didn't Guilfoyle test positive?
I believe the crazy bitch did.
Biden can issue a statement but he MUST NOT suspend his campaign except possibly for one day to show his respect... for someone who deserves NONE.
Do we have a working government right now?
Good question. Yes, we do... as much as it has been a working government with Trump in charge. If Trump becomes incapacitated, Pence takes over. If Pence were to also become ill and incapacitated, Pelosi is next in line.
The Cabinet can still meet for what it's worth. The Congress can still act if they all get serious. The military is fully functional in the face of any international threats.
That's the end of the debates, folks.
Depending on what happens over the next couple of weeks, the race might end up as Biden vs. Pence.
In all seriousness Donald Trump should resign from office. His standing as a candidate in this race is completely hitched to his ability to present himself as a superman who didnt need no stinking mask or social distancing.
I cant imagine any possible basis for this country re-electing him president now unless our people have lost their minds.
Maybe Pence could campaign on "vote for me in memory of the Donald Trump presidency"
You could not see any possible basis before this.
Anyway, at Trump's age this is serious business.
On top of that, our nation (at least) will be greatly affected commensurate to the severity of his illness because the sitting PotUS is now a victim of the pandemic. Does not matter that this is Trump; this is the PotUS.
Our nation is likely to overreact and that is going to be bad news.
Listen, if Donald Trump even whispers anything that sounds like postponing the election, I'm going to lose my mind. Or what's left of it.
The election will NOT be postponed. Period.
Postponing the election does not leave him as President after Jan 20th so there is no upside for him to do that.
His standing as a candidate in this race is completely hitched to his ability to present himself as a superman who didnt need no stinking mask or social distancing.
You were at the 100% mark before this happened. "I cant imagine any possible basis for this country re-electing him president ..." is the message you have put forth for years.
But I agree that this is yet another hit to his campaign. If he recovers quickly, this could get real interesting. If not, we could have a very serious situation humanely, economically, politically, etc. and a potential constitutional crisis.
There is net horrible news.
How dare you!
I resemble that remark.
I was going to disagree, then I read you again and have to agree. Then again, I read again and have to again disagree.
If he recovered fast, would be a problem. Agree.
Where I disagree is that it would be a problem him getting that ill. He will have the best medical care in the world at his fingertips.
Meanwhile, those that cannot afford such care will die. And he will still be telling people it is not a problem.
Given the best care in the world, what happens if he gets very ill? Does that not send a shock wave through our system?
Because he is completely unfit to hold office, any office, and I would like to have faith in my fellow Americans.
Not really. What is the worse that could happen. That he is not re-elected?
He will, once he recovers, use it as a weapon and say it is all not worth being concerned about.
I think you are probably right. However the only people who take advice from Trump are his cult members. I dont see this helping him in the election even if he says "see, no big deal".
That has been your position all along. You understand my point, right?
Another major downturn in the economy as a start.
If he recovers quickly then I agree with you. I suggested that.
I never underestimate the uniformed.
You actually think, sickness or not, that a Biden win would downturn stocks?
Big time downturn. Like 40-50% within a few months.
Believe any fiction you want.
If you think the wealthy will let their wealth go willingly, you are sadly mistaken.
They will sell first preserving much or most of theirs
And that helps the rest...how?
Without the compliance of others, they lose as well.
That is not what I was saying. A Biden win is already factored into the stock market.
The economic impact I was referring to is the over-reaction that will likely take place given this extremely high-visibility infection. This is the shock-wave through the system I referred to.
This event plays on the psychology of the public. The leader who is supposed to be keeping everyone safe, who is leading the nation through this pandemic, whose word many people apparently still trust, with all the personal resources at his disposal failed to keep even himself safe.
The impact on the nation is a function of Trump's severity of illness. If he recovers quickly, there may be no ill-effect. If not, yes, I see problems.
Uh, no. A Biden win is already factored into the stock market. The market will be affected by an unexpected negative of significance.
The thing is that wearing a mask does not protect one from catching the virus. It's supposed to protect the people around you. However, he discouraged mask wearing AND social distancing so now he has to pay the piper.
And he continued to have rallies during this whole thing and people died
Ah, gotcha. I still don't think it would be that bad. The only ones that would be shocked by it would be his avid supporters.
I am surprised he has not tested positive earlier.
The only thing I could really foresee would be impact on the election itself. What would be done, etc.
Consider the worst case scenario. Although extremely unlikely, what if Trump could not shake this virus? I see a pretty substantial shock wave if the PotUS were to not survive COVID-19. All of a sudden this becomes very real to those who could not internalize it before. And for those who did, they will likely increase their precautions. There is a direct impact on the economy when people fearfully withdraw all at once and it is not pretty.
Back off to Trump being sick for a long while, etc. and there is a lesser but still shocking effect.
However, if Trump were to shake this off with little or no trouble then that could actually turn into a positive for him and for the economic psychology of the nation.
Thus, economically speaking (and humanely), we should all be rooting for Trump to shake this off quickly and then tell people to live their lives but always wear masks and social distance where appropriate.
IMO of course.
The sad thing is, he will get the best healthcare available, while us peons don't deserve it.
Then you have the problem of early voting with votes cast for someone no longer in the running. The decision would then probably be left to the electoral college - we actually vote for the electors anyway.
I'm not too sure how that works out. I don't know that there are any hard and fast rules for all this. There might be. We need an election law expert. We don't know vote for the President and Vice President separately. The decision already does lie with the Electoral College. For now, at least, it's just a hypothetical question, but it is worth thinking it through.
While some electors are "bound" , you can't be bound to a deceased winner. So yes - we may be living in interesting times. I have faith that come sometime in January, we will have a president. Of course our response upon the announcement may be "Who?"
I'm pretty sure that any votes for trump would automatically go to Pence if Trump dropped out. A vote for Trump or Biden is actually a vote for the Republican or Democratic candidate, I think.
I don't think the question of whether electors are "bound" would be an issue.
Here is how I read this.
Basically, regardless of Trump's health, he is already on the ballot because votes have been submitted. The votes were for Trump, not for the party. Depending on severity, the R party has the option to pick another nominee to replace Trump for the actual election (they are not bound to Pence). But it seems no matter what they do they will lose because the new nominee has engaged in zero campaigning. They would need to nominate a superstar and I cannot think of any (at another time, Romney would be a possibility).
So Trump will clearly not win under these circumstances and the other nominee would not win due to the split votes. Biden wins.
If Trump is reelected (by the electoral college physical voting) but is unable to serve, then Pence becomes PotUS for the next four years to serve out Trump's term.
If Trump is incapacitated before the electoral college meets, the EC could pick any qualified nominee of the R party to be PotUS.
What is most likely to happen is that Trump will recover and spin this the best he can. (I am hoping, as a fellow human being, that he recovers well.) But given he was the underdog before getting infected, he will surely be in a worse case come November 3rd.
Trump loses.
Not quite. Were Trump not able to continue the campaign the Republican National Committee would have to elect a new candidate. That could be Pence, but it doesn't have to be. Also states have rules to recall and recast an early ballot. Though it would be very costly and a huge mess to reprint new ballots with a new candidate.
Once Trump is no longer a viable candidate, are GOP EC electors still sworn to vote for whoever the party pushes to the forefront? My reading of the Indiana law says no. They are sworn to cast a vote for the party nominee, not for their 'replacement'. It looks to me like the RNC would have to officially name another 'nominee' prior to the EC vote in each state.
In my scenario I have the R party picking a new qualified nominee.
The state rules for faithless electors vary so I suspect there are all sorts of complications that might arise.
When would the pick be made? If it's after the election, I don't know if that 'nominee' qualifies to automatically enjoy the STATE'S votes for Trump and therefore the GOP electors. A state's electors aren't necessarily the same as those that participated in the state's party convention or the one's choosing the 'new' nominee.
It's a freaking mess and legislatures need to clarify it ASAP.
BTW, did you see what Pennsylvania's GOP legislature is trying to do?
Yikes!
Of course any fellow human being would want that. However, it doesn't erase the fact that over 208,000 people have died. I doubt there will be scads of folks sending flowers and Get Well Soon balloons.
There are all sorts of scenarios to consider. On the scenario you quoted, I was considering the problem of having an election be decided by the EC with an incapacitated candidate. The R party would have picked its replacement nominee. But, as noted, how this would manifest with all the state rules for EC fidelity, etc. is complex.
The principle, at least, is that a new nominee can be designated. But with the split in actual votes between the multiple nominees, there is no way I can see either winning the general election. Compound that with 48 states using a winner-takes-all scenario and there is a real mess. The amount of fighting that would ensue could trigger a constitutional crisis.
This is extremely unlikely, but it just shows how ugly this can turn.
Yeah, democracy is inconvenient.
Could they, in theory, nominate a fool like Mitch McConnell?
Stop giving them ideas!
Yes
There are worse nominees than McConnell. Indeed the landscape is replete with horrible potential nominees.
Name one
Louie Gohmert
Ewww...you went there
Yeah, that kicked in the old involuntary yuck shimmy.
Louie Gohmert, Louis CK....what's the difference? (-:
Well if you are going to go to non-politicians, how about Gary Busey?
Gary Busey for PotUS!
And his son as VP?
I'm thinking Kanye West on the Birthday Party ticket. (-:
I am so effing angry at this fool. Not only am I angry at him, but I am angry at his enablers. Why didn't they just tackle him and staple a mask to his effing face.
I will say, if true. I could care less.
He is a piece of shit that deserves any bad karma that comes his way.
With my luck though, he will be just fine. then he will say, see I told ya, wasn't that bad.
I never wish bad for people yet sometimes I get tested.
Trump is a victim of his own negligence, and that will be completely obvious to anyone with a working brain. It's hard to imagine any scenario where this gains him votes. Now, no doubt, it probably won't lose him many, but its hard to imagine it gaining him even one.
They will say it is a Liberal conspiracy to take him down.
true.
Correct.
As are every single person who gets the virus. I, for one basically "locked" myself down back in March when this thing started marching across the country and world. Except for work and a rare grocery store trip, we went and have gone nowhere like restaurants or bars. No need as we prepare well ahead of unforeseen natural disasters let alone some health scare.
Not only is that untrue, it's just a shitty thing to say. The rest of your comment is nothing but fluffing your own fur and sitting in judgment on others. Have you no moral compass?
It is not possible to fully protect oneself. The best we can do is minimize the opportunities for infection.
Trump, in contrast, has the power of the presidency to take actions on behalf of the entire population. No comparison between what Trump could do and what an individual can do.
Further, Trump actively flaunted protections. So he clearly was not doing all he could do, even on an individual basis for himself.
I rest my case. He is responsible for his own infection. May be a shitty thing to say (LMAO virtue signaling baizuo) but as a theoretical, we are not the rest of the world. We have freedom and no matter what or who gives the order, there will be those who say "screw you I'm an American" and not take the precautions suggestions. That has been evident, if nothing else, throughout this whole thing. Less infections with a federal mandate (unenforceable by the way) absolutely. Complete full stop? Not so much. 30-60,000 dead from the "normal" flu annually kind of paints that picture.
Your case then is the point JR originally made @23.1.1, to which I agreed:
So basically you agree with JR on this point. I do too.
Basically yes. Everyone controls their own destiny to an extent. But Trump has no absolute power over what every single American subjects themselves to. It's like Workman's Comp Insurance. "Protect me, from me, in spite of me". In other words, "I am about to do some shit I know I shouldn't but you've got my back".
Of course not. Nobody has claimed that from what I have read.
Trump's power is general. He can inform (properly) and encourage states to follow certain standards. He can lead by his own example. He can impose federal restrictions.
Similar to the economy (for which Trump takes credit). Trump cannot control what every single businessperson does or what every consumer does. So if he can take credit for a good economy in general terms he can accept responsibility for high infections / death rates in the USA in general terms.
That would be fair (and consistent), right?
They already are.
On a bit of a lighter note, it's clear that CNN has been getting their panel members out of bed. Dr. Sanjay Gupta clearly has bed hair slick-back. Brian Stelter has puffy sleepy eyes. Carl Bernstein has, well, I guess he always looks like that.
I was just thinking. There are more bombshell Trump bashing stories in the pipeline planned to explode during October. I wonder if any of them will be withheld out of sympathy or decorum.
And here I thought any bombshell would be the crap that Duhram (or whatever his name is) is suppose to release.
I'm sure truthful information about Trump's questionable behavior can be presented with appropriate decorum in a timely fashion.
Once Trump loses the election you'll never hear any of that crap again.
"Any use of the word decorum uttered by a sycophant is rendered meaningless."
Yeah, those indictments have been coming for years now . . . . .those investigations of the investigators