October 2: Trump's Covid diagnosis

By Veronica Rocha, Melissa Macaya, Melissa Mahtani and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

Updated 12:44 a.m. ET, October 3, 2020
146 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
12:44 a.m. ET, October 3, 2020

We've moved our live coverage of President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis here.

12:27 a.m. ET, October 3, 2020

The three major world leaders who caught Covid-19 all downplayed or dismissed the virus

From left to right: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump
From left to right: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump Getty Images

Three major world leaders -- US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro -- have now tested positive for coronavirus.

All three have downplayed the virus, and received criticism from experts and members of the public for not taking the pandemic seriously, said CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

"The three most prominent world leaders to have contracted the virus were all populists who minimized the problem, mocked some of the social distancing rules," Zakaria said Friday night. "Bolsonaro, Johnson and Trump. They've all ended up with Covid."

Johnson's hospitalization: Johnson tested positive in March and probably had "the worst experience of any world leader," Zakaria said.

Johnson spent three days hospitalised in the ICU, on a ventilator receiving oxygen. After his recovery, he credited Britain's National Health Service with saving his life.

"He did not mince words. He thought he was that close. He seems a much more subdued man," said Zakaria. "He had resisted any kind of social distancing and the lockdown. He's come out of it much more attentive to social distancing, much more attentive to urging people to follow the rules."

Bolsonaro dismissed the virus: In Brazil, Bolsonaro spent months downplaying the threat from coronavirus, dismissing it as just a "little flu" and assuring his compatriots they had little to fear.

Less than two weeks after testing positive, Bolsonaro took a walk in the grounds of his presidential palace and greeted a crowd of supporters, video broadcast live on his Facebook page showed. He repeatedly lowered his mask while talking, including when aides were nearby.

12:06 a.m. ET, October 3, 2020

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien tests positive for coronavirus 

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins

In this August 28 file photo, Campaign manager Bill Stepien stands alongside US President Donald Trump as he speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One.
In this August 28 file photo, Campaign manager Bill Stepien stands alongside US President Donald Trump as he speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

A senior official has confirmed to CNN that Bill Stepien, President Trump's campaign manager, tested positive for the coronavirus.

He will work from home, the official said. 

In the past day, a number of other officials close to the President have also tested positive, including former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.

12:03 a.m. ET, October 3, 2020

Trump's physician: President is "doing very well" and has been given Remdesivir

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has tweeted an update from the President's physician.

The update reads:

“This afternoon, in consultation with specialists from Walter Reed and Johns Hopkins University, I recommended movement of the President up to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for further monitoring. This evening I’m happy to report that the President is doing very well. He is not requiring any supplemental oxygen, but in consultation with specialists we have elected to initiate Remdesivir therapy. He was completed his first does and is resting comfortably.

Remdesivir is an antiviral drug, developed by Gilead Sciences.

Earlier Friday, the physician announced that Trump was also taking the experimental Regeneron antibody cocktail.

Watch:

11:58 p.m. ET, October 2, 2020

Trump tweets from Walter Reed: "Going well, I think!"

From CNN's Aaron Pellish 

President Donald Trump has tweeted for the first time since arriving in hospital to be treated for Covid-19, saying, “Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!“ 

Trump sent the tweet from inside Walter Reed Military Hospital, where he was admitted earlier today.

The President has had a fever since this morning, according to a source. Trump's physician confirmed that he has received a dose of the experimental Regeneron treatment.

Watch:

11:37 p.m. ET, October 2, 2020

Lindsey Graham: SCOTUS hearings and committee vote to proceed as scheduled

From CNN's Manu Raju

The Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett and committee vote are moving forward as planned, according to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham -- despite two Republicans on his committee testing positive for Covid-19.

The hearings are scheduled for October 12. The vote is scheduled for October 22.

Sens. Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, who both attended Trump's nomination ceremony for Barrett last weekend, confirmed they tested positive on Friday.

The hearings and vote will go ahead: Graham said he expects the two senators to be back in time for the committee vote. The concern is if Democrats boycott the committee vote, the GOP may not have a quorum for that vote if both senators are absent. The committee rules require a majority of members on the panel to be present for a quorum.

Graham said he also needs the two senators to be back by October 15, when the committee will begin its debate of the nomination after the hearings are done.

But even if they don’t have a quorum, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can always advance the nomination to the floor under the rules. 

How this could affect the vote: Either Tillis or Lee would be needed for a successful confirmation vote since the GOP can only afford to lose three votes on the floor and are already likely to lose two: Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.

The October 12 hearings could still take place with the two absent. Graham said the two senators could participate virtually at the hearing.

11:18 p.m. ET, October 2, 2020

Eric and Lara Trump test negative for Covid-19

From CNN's Kate Bennett

Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump address the crowd at a campaign rally for President Donald Trump in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 20.
Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump address the crowd at a campaign rally for President Donald Trump in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 20. Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Trump's son Eric and his wife Lara have both tested negative for the coronavirus, according to a statement from their spokesperson that was posted by Lara on her Twitter and Instagram accounts. 

Both are in New York City, according to a source familiar with the situation.

11:09 p.m. ET, October 2, 2020

Attendees at Trump's fundraiser in New Jersey didn't wear masks and took photos with him

From CNN's Paul P. Murphy

On Thursday, President Trump flew to New Jersey for a fundraiser -- with the White House already aware of Hope Hicks' diagnosis.

In New Jersey, Trump attended three events: an indoor roundtable, an indoor VIP reception and an outdoor reception, according to an event invitation obtained by CNN. 

Attendees took photos with Trump: Attendees from Texas said they were tested for coronavirus before arriving at the VIP reception, where they took their photo with the President. They said each individually conversed with Trump for less than a minute while the photo was taken, and maintained six feet of distance.

Attendees at the VIP reception did not wear masks, they said, but event staff did.

The roundtable attended by the President was for the fundraisers’ biggest donors, according to the invitation. 

Both indoors and outdoors: CNN has previously reported, citing two different sources, that the roundtable included 18 attendees, was held indoors at socially distanced tables, and no one wore masks.

One source also said those at the roundtable were tested ahead of time. 

The outdoor reception was open to all donors. Katherine Hermes told CNN that Trump stood at a podium, socially distant from the attendees, and held a question-and-answer session.

She and the Texas attendees say they were kept in two groups, separated by barricades.

The group closer to the President had been tested for coronavirus. Hermes' group, which was present for the outdoor reception, only received temperature checks and was kept further away.

The two groups didn't mingle and most attendees were not wearing masks, according to Hermes and the Texas attendees.

11:17 p.m. ET, October 2, 2020

Kellyanne Conway confirms she has tested positive for Covid-19

William Barr speaks with Kellyanne Conway at the Rose Garden ceremony where President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court on September 26.
William Barr speaks with Kellyanne Conway at the Rose Garden ceremony where President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court on September 26. Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images

Kellyanne Conway has tested positive for coronavirus, the former White House counselor  tweeted on Friday.

She is latest attendee of President Trump’s event announcing the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett last Saturday to test positive.

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, and Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins also attended the event, and all have since tested positive.

"Tonight I tested positive for COVID-19. My symptoms are mild (light cough) and I’m feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians," she tweeted. "As always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic."

Watch: