TRUMP & MELANIA TEST POSITIVE for COVID!!! (from the horse's mouth)

By artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 12:49am |

retweeted by Maggie Haberman:

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

(Edited evening of 10/2 to make headline stand out; originallly posted 19 hrs. earlier)

URL:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1311892190680014849?s=20

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Hope Hicks testing positive was the breaking news first, I put some of that on the most recent U.S. Covid thread, starting HERE

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 12:55am

I recall one of the Lincoln Projects' member tweets, maybe Rick Wilson, right after the debate, teasing him how sweaty he was during some of it. I noticed that too. All the talk about earpieces and the like, wonder if anybody thought of fudging the results of a temperature check?

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 12:58am

within 16 minutes of posting, the tweet had 45,000 replies, 160,000 retweets and 144,000 likes.

Edit to add: the hashtag at Twitter most seem to be using on topic is #TrumpHasCovid, though it's going to have so much crap posted with it that I don't know how useful that will be.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:15am

CNN:

Donald Trump & his wife Melania Trump both have tested positive for COVID-19. This is following his aide Hope Hicks testing positive. https://t.co/1RIxxZstmp #DonaldTrump #TrumpHasCovid #COVID19
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:17am

Homepage of @CNN right now. pic.twitter.com/p9SwobmDyI
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:30am

This reaction is a better one than most (as one might suspect, there's lots of tasteless schadenfreude that's not even funny dark humor)

Surely conspiracy theories are being created every minute:

MAGAs right now trying to wrap their heads around the fact that the president and first lady have a virus that many of them think is a hoax...#TrumpHasCovid pic.twitter.com/0eH5N3I0Oo
— John #BB22 (@JPopStrikesBack) October 2, 2020

Wondering if Qanon sort of filters the best ones?

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:28am

Fox News miraculously finding and EXCLUSIVELY USING wire photos of Trump in a mask to wallpaper this story pic.twitter.com/WRwBZwlFsQ
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:36am

TRUMP took EVERY precaution from day one, every day, didn't miss a day, people were amazed!

People, most people, many people, everyone around the world wonder how this could have happened to him!

Show's it's FAUCI's fault!

by NCD on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:45am

Not only the best PEOPLE, he has the best VIRUSES. ( I hear it's not even the China virus - this one's made in the USA)

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:57am

DEVELOPING: Dow futures plunge more than 400 points as President Trump says he tested positive for Covid-19. https://t.co/0P5wyFNzFB
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:38am

Dr. Jonathan Reiner says Nancy Pelosi should exercise increased safety protocols in the event that Mike Pence also tests positive COVID-19.

The US Presidential line of succession is currently Trump > Pence > Pelosi > Grassley > Pompeo.

pic.twitter.com/m1KcAQ3auX
— Kareem Rifai (@KareemRifai) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:41am

About 43,000 other Americans got COVID-19 today, many without the choice of being in close and unsafe proximity to others.
— Andy Slavitt @ (@ASlavitt) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:43am

Tonight will reveal where we all think the line is comedically.
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:47am

Wut! There's a line? But Butch, we never had no lines before.

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:26am

This is a good one, mho :

Does this mean the health care plan may be delayed?
— Christopher Titus (@TitusNation) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 3:21am

Maybe this will all result in blue and red state America finally socially distancing from one another

by Orion on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 4:30am

Kai Ryssdal of "Marketplace":

Yup

“Aside from the campaign, the symbolism of an infected president could rattle governors and business owners trying to assess when and how to reopen or keep open shops, schools, parks, beaches, restaurants, factories and other workplaces.”
— Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:51am

“After White House officials learned of Hicks’ symptoms, Trump & his entourage flew to New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser & delivered a speech. Trump was in close contact with dozens of other people, including campaign supporters at a roundtable.” https://t.co/c3vRsu4Kwi
— Nina Bernstein (@NinaBernstein1) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:53am

8) Because as @AymanM points out, everyone in the debate hall had to test negative just to be there. And testing done by Cleveland Clinic. https://t.co/bxcXgPSdNL
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:00am

Memorandum from President @realDonaldTrump’s Physician pic.twitter.com/ujHUufQBln
— Judd Deere (@JuddPDeere45) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:28am

102 years ago, President Woodrow Wilson covered up a pandemic (the Spanish Flu), and then caught it himself.https://t.co/0wWEUsj4Sr
— Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:34am

30 minutes before Trump’s announcement, the fail safe planes are put into air to deter foreign adversaries. Part of continuity protocols. As I said, we have a plan. Amazing. https://t.co/c1NxvBsSfU
— Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) October 2, 2020

I tink it is amazing that he told someone else he was gonna tweet it before he did so!

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:43am

A reminder to all Americans that the net effect of our prime minister catching COVID-19 was that it prompted a surge of patriotic support. From which he emerged with renewed popularity. Which enabled him to tear up key functions of the state
— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) October 2, 2020

It also silenced press & parliament at key moment in crisis from asking critical questions. And when it was announced he was moving to intensive care was moment of national shock. Everything about this is rocket fuel for ‘patriotism’
— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:47am

On Monday, Trump Updated the Nation on Virus Strategy. By Friday, He Tested Positive https://t.co/Fx1Q5kkNQb via me and @maggieNYT
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 3:24am

Or is he faking? He has a lot more to gain by "miraculously coming back" for his true believers, God intervenes... Or is it his way of "spending more time with his family" and calling it quits without the shame of being a loser/quitter?

Nothing he says can be believed, so look for the spin and the secretive scuffling of his minions elsewhere.

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 3:43am

Agree. October surprise triumph over the awful deadly evil unAmerican Chinese virus.

If he "has it" he would be going very soon, not days, likely hours, to the hospital for IV loading of remdesivir (IV) and other early stage therapy, monitoring etc, even if he then comes back the the WH.

by NCD on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:22am

Surely bleach and advanced versions of Putin's vaccine shoulda worked. I bet this is just liberal rumor-mongering, looking for the worst.

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:59am

If so, it's not having the intended effect. see McNab downthread.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:38pm

Wow.

by Orion on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 3:51am

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sent his regards to President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump after the pair tested positive for the coronavirus.

Trump announced in a tweet early Friday that he and Melania Trump had been diagnosed.

In response to the news, Biden tweeted Friday morning that he and his wife, Jill Biden, were sending well-wishes for the duo to have a “swift recovery.”

“We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family,” he wrote.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-trump-covid-response_n_5f7723e9c5b66377b280fa13

by rmrd0000 on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 9:58am

America, stand back and stand by.

by moat on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 10:05am

now that is a REALLY good one!

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 12:56pm

RNC chair Rona McDaniel tested positive for COVID on Wednesday.

Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms, according to several people briefed on the situation.

Ms. McDaniel is the latest person who is in frequent contact with President Trump to test positive for the virus.

She was last with Mr. Trump last Friday, and has been at her home in Michigan since then, the people briefed on the matter said.

She received her diagnosis on Wednesday, they said. After a crowded donor event in March at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s private club in Florida, Ms. McDaniel fell ill, but she tested negative at the time.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/02/us/trump-vs-biden#ronna-mcdaniel-chairwoman-of-the-rnc-tests-positive-for-the-coronavirus

by rmrd0000 on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 10:54am

Just hours before President Trump announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19, he was mingling with fundraisers at an event held at his New Jersey golf club—and even posed for personal photo-ops with supporters. The event went ahead after the White House learned that one of the president’s closest aides, Hope Hicks, had tested positive for the disease, according to multiple reports.

Trump was last seen in public Thursday afternoon, when he headed home to the White House after the fundraising trip to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. Ahead of that event, attendees were promised a photo-op with the president, and Trump was due to meet with the winner of a raffle organized to raise funds for his campaign. Despite Hicks’ test, the event went ahead as planned

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-went-ahead-with-golf-club-fundraiser-after-hicks-tested-positive?ref=home

by rmrd0000 on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 11:20am

Trump is said to have minor symptoms. He was lethargic at the Bedminster fundraiser, per an attendee. As of last night, officials were discussing treatment options as well as options for addressing the nation. https://t.co/DCq8wCL3B4
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:04pm

Trump tested positive, but White House aides still aren’t wearing masks.

@ NYTimes Live Election Updates, Oct. 2

President Trump’s diagnosis does not appear to have significantly changed the behavior of some of his closest advisers, who were walking around the White House complex without masks on Friday morning.

A CNN reporter spotted Johnny McEntee, one of Mr. Trump’s top advisers and someone often in proximity to the president, without a mask, on his way to get a coronavirus test.

When the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, briefed reporters outside, he too was maskless.

So was Dr. Scott W. Atlas, a Trump adviser who is not an epidemiologist but whose counsel to the president that the virus is not resurging has taken root with Mr. Trump.

Coronavirus adviser not wearing a mask at the WH the day the President of the United States tests positive. https://t.co/LPMDF5F920
— Allie Malloy (@AlliemalCNN) October 2, 2020

Dr. Atlas’s optimistic projections have put him at odds with many members of the White House coronavirus task force, and have sparked alarm among some Trump aides. Mr. Trump has repeatedly mocked mask-wearing and has fostered a culture at the White House where aides have not always felt comfortable covering their faces.

— Maggie Haberman

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:09pm

Biden plans to campaign in Michigan after testing negative.

@ NYTimes.com Live Election Updates, Oct. 2

Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill, have tested negative for the coronavirus, their doctor said Friday, just hours after President Trump revealed that he and the first lady, Melania Trump, had tested positive.

“I’m happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID,” Mr. Biden wrote on Twitter. “Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.”

Mr. Biden planned to go ahead with a planned campaign trip to Michigan on Friday, though he had not left Delaware by early afternoon and the timing of his first appearance in Michigan was uncertain.

Mr. Biden’s test result was disclosed in a statement from his primary care physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, that was distributed by the campaign. Mr. Biden appeared on the debate stage with Mr. Trump on Tuesday night, though the two stood far apart.

It can take several days after exposure for the virus to reach levels that are detectable by a test. People show symptoms on average around five days after exposure, but as late as 14 days.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill, have tested negative for the coronavirus, their doctor said Friday, just hours after President Trump revealed that he and the first lady, Melania Trump, had tested positive.

“I’m happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID,” Mr. Biden wrote on Twitter. “Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.”

Mr. Biden planned to go ahead with a planned campaign trip to Michigan on Friday, though he had not left Delaware by early afternoon and the timing of his first appearance in Michigan was uncertain.

Mr. Biden’s test result was disclosed in a statement from his primary care physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, that was distributed by the campaign. Mr. Biden appeared on the debate stage with Mr. Trump on Tuesday night, though the two stood far apart.

It can take several days after exposure for the virus to reach levels that are detectable by a test. People show symptoms on average around five days after exposure, but as late as 14 days [....]

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:14pm

note instructions from Biden campaign to staffers in the above:

In a note sent to staff Friday morning, Mr. Biden’s campaign manager, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, asked the team to “refrain from posting about the situation on social media unless otherwise directed by your manager,” and promised that “the health and safety of the entire team has been, and will remain, our number one priority.”

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:15pm

Biden tested negative

by rmrd0000 on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:14pm

COVID.

Positive:

President Trump
First Lady Melania Trump
White House adviser Hope Hicks
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
Utah Sen. Mike Lee

Negative:

Vice President Mike Pence
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
HHS Secretary Alex Azar
Attorney General William Barr
White House adviser Dan Scavino
White House adviser Jared Kushner
White House adviser Ivanka Trump
Judge Amy Coney Barrett

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-tests-positive-covid/card/MtblBp9GD9jtXsOHNE3f

Barr tested negative

Miller not included in WSJ list.

by rmrd0000 on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:25pm

Wow. This was Saturday at the White House with Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who has now tested positive for Covid-19. They really thought they were invincible.

pic.twitter.com/1pkqfsjizP
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:30pm

Dammit, I was ready to post. These crazy adorable kids, just enjoying spring break, having a good time...

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:38pm

They got the herd mentality right there! And I thought socialists were the ones that socialized the most...

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:43pm

More seriously, does piss me off when I see things like this no matter who is doing it. Just in a simplistic jealous way. We would all like life to be back to normal, it hurts. And one wonders whether one is giving up too much to be safe, especially when you meet someone or hear about someone who was being very careful and still caught it.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 1:46pm

Thom Tillis, another Republican Senator in attendance at the Rose Garden tests positive — pic.twitter.com/JxxgV5VfoN
— Emily Cochrane (@ESCochrane) October 3, 2020

oh my god, is like an epidemic going on or something?

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:07pm

Gosh darn it, hanging around with Senior Republicans is bad for your health!

by moat on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:24pm

Both Tillis and Lee are on the Senate Judiciary Committee. As rmrd posted elsewhere on this thread, Amy Comey Barret says she had coronavirus in summer, so prolly has sufficient active immunity. I've got to admit that this unmasked garden party they gave for her really is starting to seem like a Dem plot to derail her nomination without harming her. What other excuse do the participants have?

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:55pm

Look at this picture of the Barret annoumcement reception that just popped up on my feed, look at how close the chairs are packed!

.@shearm: “Like people in a lot of other professions, I realize there’s some element of risk always ... I feel strongly that reporting for the paper is worth some of that risk.” Feel better soon friend https://t.co/9dB1AQF7X5
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:59pm

Politico's on the Supreme disaster garden party with a much better picture

MUST QUARANTINE every single GOP Senator in this photo. They are all close contacts of #COVID19 positive @ThomTillis & @MikeLeeforUtah. Do not let them into Senate floor/office building or near staff for 14 days (or possibly 16-17 days given some w/ extended incubation periods) https://t.co/X1w576rcZG
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 9:37pm

Maskless Bill Barr wipes his nose then shakes hands. pic.twitter.com/arWtYtmRVU
— BevMarie (@evenbev) October 2, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 9:55pm

Miz Kellyanne Conway, who sat right behind Melania in that picture, just confirmed positive (what her daughter had been diagnosing on TicToc--family problems still there,too):

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.

As always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic.
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) October 3, 2020

I should mention that I've read now that there were related indoor visitors too.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 10:18pm

oy, hubbie all alone on the computer in his own room:

I can relate https://t.co/OUy6ILCuNo
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 10:21pm

Trump has eradicated COVID, just some embers left.

by NCD on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 12:08am

If you don't like rake the leaves, tho....those embers...wouldn't be Trump's fault...Did he catch it in a blue state, that's the question.

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 12:23am

He apparently tested negative. Or so he claims, and he's a pathological liar desperate to consolidate power.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

SO who knows!
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) October 3, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 6:21am

Wow. Supposedly this was one of the indoor events last weekend at the White House. No masks. No distancing. That’s 81-year old Maureen Scalia, widow of the Supreme Court justice, shaking Amy Coney Barrett’s hands. https://t.co/eUHxAF8XtD
— Maria Chong (@mariachong) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 2:00am

is like an epidemic going on or something?

Oh, an epidemic. I wish you had made that clear. Most of these guys thought it was a pan-demic and since the wife did all the cooking they thought they were safe.

by ocean-kat on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 12:55am

Confused with a pandemonium, and they thought liberals did all the moaning

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 5:37am

I'm listening to the live show on Infowars and they are manically putting out as much COVID 19 false info as possible in each segment - the disease, the tests, the vaccines.
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) October 2, 2020

(more on that thread)

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:07pm

And a whole lot of people "just know" that the Democrats are behind Trump's illness. pic.twitter.com/LINyTyVovo
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:37pm

Amy Coney Barrett had COVID in the summer

https://time.com/5895544/amy-coney-barrett-covid-19/

by rmrd0000 on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:16pm

found the only actual photo that exists of a greek myth in action pic.twitter.com/ef2UAyfDud
— Heinz Baked Jeans (@Merman_Melville) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 2:57pm

this above comment comes back to me: too bad he didn't study in school much, he would have found a lot of inspiration for his fantasy narratives in Greek myths, like the one he is cooking up now about now about a virus-defeating god. (would of course have read up on Narcissus' story more too.)

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 4:04pm

Per @PressSec, @realDonaldTrump has received an experimental COVID treatment that is still in trials and not available to most Americans. pic.twitter.com/StTnM1KeIK
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 4:36pm

Thank God Trump, Trump, Trump and Trump are doing well!

The President did it for us. For Freedumb.

He's gone from mildly symptomatic, to hoarse, to fatigued to feverish.

by NCD on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 4:51pm

This, along with that, actually made me think about all the stories I've read about course of the illness:

WH economic advisor Larry Kudlow says Trump has a "very moderate case" of coronavirus. According to health experts who have looked at the data, it can take more than 5 days after symptom onset for those symptoms to worsen. It is too early to know how mild/severe his case may be.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 2, 2020

and the nuance of it. Typically once infected, if it's the initial stages of someone who is walking around relatively healthy and not already seriously ill from something else, the patient is told to stay home, quarantine and only call in if--blah blah blah (checklist) happens. They might be given a blood oxygen monitor like Chris Cuomo had, or similar home tests now since they have learned more, depending upon what complications they might expect from that particular patient's history.

But seems almost universal that the first days of infections never require much monitoring much less hospitalization, only quarantine. That the serious problems always occur after damage is done via immune reaction (i.e.,cytokine storm, etc.) or that the patient has/had an unknown underlying condition or physical flaw that covid infection worsens.

And this therefore suggests to me that Trump is not actually following prudent medical procedure, but demanding experimental treatment for prophalactic purposes, when that may not be indicated by wise medical advice. I.E., a very well known side effect of being wealthy and/or powerful is doctor caused illness. In the past, for example, I've seen evidence that presidents risked doctor caused illness from excessive testing and procedures.

Boris Johnson's course of the illness did not exhibit this problem. He followed the usual protocols of "wait and see" before he ended up in hospital. But then he was being treated by a national health system which doesn't have a profit motive to overtest and overtreat.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 5:11pm

Just reported, he is being hospitalized.

Will he take his tweeter, will he have the energy to summon up the Proud Boys?

by NCD on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 5:45pm

joke about that only old news junkies will git:

Where's Alexander Haig when we need him? https://t.co/fUsxssbwnD
— Frank Rich (@frankrichny) October 2, 2020

For some reason one thing I can never forget about Haig is how when I saw him interviewed by Geraldo Rivera, on his show during the early Clinton years I think, Haig kept calling him "Reynaldo". I.E., Well you see, Reynaldo...He was very like a cartoon caricature of a general.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:00pm

and forget what I said, as these people remind me of a situation that's probably true:

And let us all remember: Trump HATES hospitals and is probably being FORCED to go.
— JR Buckley #BidenHarris (@JRBuckley) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:05pm

he just tweeted a video before he got on the chopper, hah!

pic.twitter.com/B4H105KVSs
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:27pm

and personally, I don't think this is a bad thing, I think it's a good thing for a president to do. People can judge for themselves the condition he is in, can cut down on the number of outlandish conspiracy theories.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:29pm

'I'm just not': Trump told Woodward he wasn't concerned about catching Covid in newly released audio

By @jamiegangel, @elizabethstuart and me.https://t.co/w2Dam3KbqW
— Mike Warren (@MichaelRWarren) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 5:43pm

President Trump did not call COVID-19 a hoax, according to AP and other fact-checkers

Claims that President Trump referred to the COVID-19 pandemic as a “hoax” at a rally in February are false, according to The Associated Press, Snopes and FactCheck.org. The president – who confirmed early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19 – was at the time responding to Democratic criticism of his administration’s handling of the pandemic, the AP reported.

@ Twitter news, Oct. 2

THAT SAID, "some very fine people" might have.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 5:48pm

Hours before Mr. Trump announced his infection on Twitter, he told an audience that “the end of the pandemic is in sight.”

This was the truth. The white house inner circle and Trump himself getting covid was always what was going to happen in the end. I'm surprised it took this long to happen.

by ocean-kat on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:12pm

Yes, he believed his own hype.
Successful dealers stay away from the product.

by moat on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:34pm

The Obama's taking the high, civilized road, with a little "hint hint" added about "others":

At an event @BarackObama says he and @MichelleObama “extend our best wishes, to Trump and Melania...hopeful that they and others who have been affected by COVID-19 around the country are getting the care that they need, that they are going to be on the path to a speedy recovery.”
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:33pm

Remember when Donald Trump mocked Hillary because she was seriously ill with a viral respiratory infection? pic.twitter.com/jxsrvoLf08
— Chad Loder (@chadloder) October 2, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 9:47am

warm greetings and best wishes from an old best buddy:

NEW: North Korea's Kim Jong Un sends message to Trump, says he sincerely hopes he and Melania recover from the coronavirus soon. Full English report from KCNA here pic.twitter.com/NdVq6PFdmp
— Josh Smith (@joshjonsmith) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:37pm

Journalists who work at the White House are testing positive for Covid-19 - CNN https://t.co/3iOMc1uXrX
— Dylan Purcell (@dylancpurcell) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:47pm

Excellent take @ProfBrianKalt https://t.co/JhJMu8L9Un
— Robert L. Tsai (@robertltsai) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:48pm

and on what happens if he can't run, Seth Abramson recommends:

This is an incredibly informative article that is worth reading. https://t.co/ohI7BOj832
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 7:01pm

As someone who has represented incarcerated people lacking adequate protections from COVID, I welcome all new converts to the view that even people who have done bad things should not die from a horrible disease.
— Matthew Segal (@segalmr) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:52pm

These are not folks who think everything is okay. https://t.co/roVCuwQqMr
— Reed Galen (@reedgalen) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 6:56pm

Ken Vogel, contact tracer extraordinaire:

Donors had to take rapid Covid tests to get into TRUMP's indoor roundtable (& temp. checks for outdoor admittance) last night at Bedminster to ensure they couldn't infect @POTUS.

He didn't return the favor.

He showed up even after the WH knew he was exposed through HOPE HICKS.
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) October 2, 2020

One donor who attended the Bedminster fundraiser, former @MorrisGOP chair JOHN SETTE, said "I couldn’t believe it” when @POTUS tested positive hours later.

Sette told me he feels fine & is glad he went, anyway.

"It was a wonderful event. The weather was beautiful.”
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 7:08pm

Major Chris Wallace reveal--Trump wasn't tested by independent Cleveland Clinic before the debate:

Chris Wallace says Trump showed up too late to the debate to be tested as planned so they had to abide by the "honor system" pic.twitter.com/SonuY7kKD1
— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 7:11pm

Honor systems are for losers.
These Fox snowflakes are really annoying.

by moat on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 7:20pm

You have to admire Wallace for being able to say, "We relied on the honor system." without laughing.

by ocean-kat on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 7:26pm

found the debate tweet I remembered because he appeared the same to me: and he's sweaty

Donald Trump is a child. He's weak. He's unhinged. He's desperate.

And he's sweaty.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 30, 2020

I noticed and remembered it because it's an oft mentioned feature of the Nixon/Kennedy debates that Nixon was sweating under the TV lights and Kennedy looked cool and collected.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 7:21pm

on what the Kremlin & the far right are doing with the social media situation:

I've written *over and over and over again* that I hope the president recovers. If you want to know what the *Kremlin* plans to do while the president is sick, here's how RT described my tweet below (which you can read for yourself): "openly wishing death on a sitting president." https://t.co/ozOSkrB0oX
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 2, 2020

PS/ That the Kremlin is already turning benign, relevant, reasonable tweets by left-leaning columnists who want Trump to recover into propaganda tells us exactly what Russia plans to do in the wake of the president's illness. Keep in mind this was an RT "journalist" who did this.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 2, 2020

PS2/ My question about the legal and political and administrative and constitutional procedures in the event the president is incapacitated for an extended period of time as a COVID-19 "long hauler" was echoed hours later by the New York Times. It is and was a *mainstream* query.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 2, 2020

PS3/ What's scary is that the far-right Daily Wire is doing exactly the same thing as the Kremlin: finding people who've said they hope the president *recovers* and then implying they said the opposite. The far right and the Kremlin are both handling Trump's illness the same way.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 2, 2020

PS4/ Essentially, media has handled Trump's illness with enormous sensitivity—as have left-leaning political columnists. But that sensitivity and grace means *nothing* in the face of a coordinated far-right/Kremlin assault on truth that will ply its vile narrative no matter what.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 7:53pm

related!

Because the President is sick, Biden pulls all negative ads. Because Trump is Trump he doesn’t. Biden will bring this nation together in a positive way.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) October 3, 2020

Oh the irony to have to say: which side are you on, brother, the uniters or the dividers?

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 7:59pm

No he won't. It's laughable to think pulling ads will do a damn thing. What move will the republicans make in response to it? Not Trump but those supposed good republicans that Biden is gonna sit down with after the election and make nice with. They'll do nothing to make nice, not now, not then. It's delusional to think other wise

by ocean-kat on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:38pm

I thought the move was to protect the campaign from the charge of cashing in on the development to score political points. Like Trump does before breakfast.

The whole how does one differentiate oneself from the opponent thing.

by moat on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 9:09pm

As a purely political move it may help Biden win votes. I doubt it but I don't know much about why the hoi polloi vote the way they do. But the idea that it will do anything to bring the nation together is just bullshit for fools

by ocean-kat on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 9:24pm

Potus doctor note on his treatment > pic.twitter.com/V74wON51aU
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 2, 2020

I note comments to the above that are EXACTLY like I was trying to express upthread. The first comment here perfectly said.

This is the problem with “VIP medicine” — patients get aggressive and unproven treatment because they ask for it. Note I did not say best treatment.
— Steven McDonald (@smcdonaldMD) October 2, 2020

Regeneron’s polyclonal antibody as of September is in phase 3 trials....you couldn’t pay me to take it for a fever. Things must be worse than we know.
— Steven McDonald (@smcdonaldMD) October 2, 2020

WORRIED—you almost **never ever** give someone a clinically untested drug like @Regeneron’s polyclonal antibody drug—unless it’s for compassionate use for someone severely ill, or you’re crazy. Right @VincentRK? This smacks of utter craziness or desperation. #COVID19 #TrumpCovid https://t.co/Es0SaWA0ac
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 2, 2020

Feigel Ding has a lot more detail on his feed. I can't stress strongly enough that I have experienced deaths of near and dear who believed 'YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR" with medicine. IT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE! In many cases just the opposite, the profit motive distorts dangerously. Very dangerous way to think about medicine! Death defying in fact.

It's a stupid thing to argue that the rich and/or powerful get the best treatment. Because they don't! Especially if they are stupid they don't. It's not just money, without smarts the money can make it worse. Smarts and self-awareness is what it's all about. Of course, the practice can't be starved of money either. But people have to start separating the two things. Development of treatments is one thing that can sustain some profit motive, but practice of treatment, never.

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:26pm

The President’s team either:

A) Can’t read basic medical literature.

B) Can read medical literature but can’t overrule what he’s telling them to do, based on what advice he’s getting elsewhere.

C) Believes he is dying and therefore are willing to try anything. pic.twitter.com/yByJVcUSXV
— Jeremy Faust MD MS (ER physician) (@jeremyfaust) October 2, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 5:21am

Dr Gupta was surprised by the antibody treatment and suggested the doctors may be the ones who are freaking out.
Washington Post says he received the experimental drug remdesivir. It looks like the team is willing to give anything a go.

I am going to send them my special snortable recipe of Hydroxychloroquine cut with a little cocaine to give the ticker a little bump. It has been working great so far.

by moat on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 9:20am

For the record: If Trump survives, he will assuredly spread doubt that he even had suffered the reproach of contracting COVID. To admit he had it would lose the large part of his base that believes the virus doesn't exist, and of course, make him look weak

"They told me I had the Chinese virus, but I'm not sure, maybe it was the flu."

Nothing else at all will change for him, his mask ridicule will stop, but he won't promote them.

by NCD on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 9:27am

Another possibility is that he won't wear a mask because he now feels protected from re-infection.

Edit to add:

There were WH staff not wearing masks when Trump left for Walter Reed

by rmrd0000 on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 10:02am

See picture upthread, staff watching him leave, all wearing masks, in tweet by Reed Galen of Lincoln project, suggesting they are scared

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 3:58pm

From the NYT

President Trump’s diagnosis did not significantly change the behavior of some of his closest advisers, who were walking around the White House complex without masks on Friday morning.

A CNN reporter spotted Johnny McEntee, one of Mr. Trump’s top advisers and someone often in proximity to the president, without a mask, on his way to get a coronavirus test.

When the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, briefed reporters outside, he too was maskless.

So was Dr. Scott W. Atlas, a Trump adviser who is not an epidemiologist but whose counsel to the president that the virus is not resurging has taken root with him.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/02/us/trump-vs-biden#trump-tested-positive-but-the-white-house-is-still-not-requiring-people-to-wear-masks

Noted in the article

A spokesman for Mr. Trump, Judd Deere, confirmed later on Friday that masks were not required on White House grounds.

by rmrd0000 on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 6:04pm

From Forbes

Effective immediately, National Security Council staff are required to wear masks in all White House common areas and any place social distancing is not possible, additionally staffers are requested not to visit the West Wing unless it is required, according to a staff memo obtained by CNN.

McEnany told Fox News the White House already follows public health procedures, including wearing masks when social distancing is not possible, and will move forward with the same guidelines.

However, a senior White House official told the Associated Press that mask-wearing would remain a “personal choice” for staffers

https://www.forbes.com/sites/elanagross/2020/10/02/national-security-council-staff-told-to-wear-masks-white-house-rules-still-make-them-optional/#cf910421465d

by rmrd0000 on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 6:09pm

I’m honest to god struck seeing *current Secret Service agents* ripshit about the *sitting president* because they feel he puts their health at risk. I’m sure others may know if there’s been anything close to that anger but my lord it’s stunning https://t.co/sryzGac3DV pic.twitter.com/Weigmzw6L1
— Mark Berman (@markberman) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 10/02/2020 - 8:43pm

Trump campaign manager Bill Stiepen tested positive

Confirming Isenstadt reporting > https://t.co/Gkk0JyIeNP
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 3, 2020

After that, Maggie Haberman also retweeted in the last hour the following tweets by colleagues:

The number of senior level Republican government officials who have contracted the coronavirus is growing by the hour. I don't think there's a parallel in the developed world to what the United States is going through right now.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 3, 2020

Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien tested positive today for COVID-19, sources familiar w/ the situation tell me & @rachelvscott. Stepien sent an email to staff tonight informing them. “I feel fine and will be back in the office as soon as I am given the green light.”
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) October 3, 2020

WH debate prep room so far with Covid-19:

President Trump: Positive
Kellyanne Conway: Positive
Bill Stepien: Positive
Hope Hicks: Positive
Chris Christie (tbd)
Rudy Giuliani (tbd)
Jason Miller (tbd)
Stephen Miller (tbd)
— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 1:50am

Popular London Times columnist's 'splainer tweet for his readers:

What is emerging from the White House is a story of such arrogance, stupidity and irresponsibility towards others in their behaviour concerning the virus that it almost beggars belief. It's the SNP MP times a 100.
— David Aaronovitch (@DAaronovitch) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 3:21am

It gets better...

An aide to Murphy just said the state now has the information it needs and "contact tracing has begun."

The RNC said it sent a list of attendees to the governor's office at 2:30pm today (roughly 24 hours after the event started yesterday afternoon).
— Molly Redden (@mtredden) October 3, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 2:12pm

Meadows is not shaking pom poms:

“The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery,” the statement said.

by moat on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 4:01pm

all retweeted in a row by George Conway, spouse of infected White House person (among other things)--there's lots more before and after, just go to his feed, he's tweeting like a very angry man

Rethinking a bit:
What if Meadows isn't a fool but is acting responsibly?
What if Trump told docs to put good face on things?
What if Meadows knows it's bad, that Sec. 3 of 25A for temporary transfer of power could be needed? Could he be trying to box Trump in to having to agree?
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) October 3, 2020

There's only one presidential doctor I want to hear from right now pic.twitter.com/z970IFxDyq
— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman1) October 3, 2020

So Trump tested positive on WEDS, went to two events and then didn’t tell anyone until news leaked out on FRIDAY. One has to wonder that IF NEWS media had not found out, how many others would have been exposed? https://t.co/ksLQEPYJWP
— julie k. brown (@jkbjournalist) October 3, 2020

They knew, they hid it, they endangered other human beings.

Totally on-brand for this bunch of thugs. https://t.co/z8qNVZVbi7
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 3, 2020

Given the comments by the POTUS physician indicate Trump traveled to a fundraiser on Thurs. after he started coronavirus treatments, one has to wonder if the original plan was to cover up Trump's condition -- and if Bloomberg breaking news about Hicks's positive test changed that
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 3, 2020

It was Mark Meadows. https://t.co/L3YuRn9tck
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) October 3, 2020

I prob made 50 calls yesterday to try to get accurate information on POTUS’ condition. Heard varying accounts from officials but decided not to run anything bc couldn’t confirm to my satisfaction. Now they send out docs saying all good & anon official saying “very concerning.” https://t.co/GLvTX2uoOC
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) October 3, 2020

That's fine. My point is the doctor's presser sucked. The WH's clean up sucked. The WH's clean up of the clean up sucked. Amateur hour soup-to-nuts. Totally open to the idea Meadows screwed up trying to unscrew this. https://t.co/aQSxlz8bh3
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) October 3, 2020

Appears WH Chief of Staff Mark Meadows spoke to reporters & contradicted President’s doctor by saying Trump vitals over last 24 hrs were very concerning. Doesn’t give confidence that Chief of Staff wants to be anonymous or that WH & med teams can’t keep story straight. https://t.co/UWnEq4jgih
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 4:18pm

Yeah, I give credence to Meadows giving background skinny.

That detail was included in our story about the mystery surrounding Trump’s annual physical: https://t.co/Q9S8Mo7EuV
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) October 3, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 4:25pm

Chris Christie checks into hospital after positive test:

In consultation with my doctors, I checked myself into Morristown Medical Center this afternoon. While I am feeling good and only have mild symptoms, due to my history of asthma we decided this is an important precautionary measure.
— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) October 3, 2020

there's more, it's a thread

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 8:00pm

Christie gave Trump one piece of advice as debate coach:
“People who overcome stuttering have a harder time maintaining their train of thought when interrupted.Keep interrupting him and he’ll stumble when he tries to speak. This will enforce the ‘senile’ narrative.”#FuckChristie
— #SeizeTrumpTower #TrumpCrimeFamily (@Koda6504) October 3, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 9:59pm

A kinder, gentler, calm, softly speaking President Trump recorded a 4 min. video message to all of us, supposedly from Walter Reed. Looking right at the camera yet! And cracks a bit of a smile sometimes! And OMG he's thankful for many things, that's the strangest, more thank you's maybe than in his whole life. Which I just saw on CNN TV, and I see it was tweeted about an hour ago. These are either some really really good drugs for him, or it's a double just like the movie "Dave":

pic.twitter.com/gvIPuYtTZG
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 8:10pm

and I see that 6 hrs. ago, he tweeted a message for what the kids should be doing while dad's gone:

OUR GREAT USA WANTS & NEEDS STIMULUS. WORK TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 8:14pm

oh puhleez Gov. Cuomo, lock em up on S.I. Blow up the Verrazano Bridge and dock the ferries!

A crowd on Staten Island today, sending the President well wishes by giving each other COVID. pic.twitter.com/VDtCam2Ruw
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 8:22pm

Brian Stelter of "Reliable Sources retweeted this by NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen:

If I'm a White House reporter, my hypothesis is: They think they can still pull a win out of this. The win is, "See? COVID is no big deal. The president had the sniffles and beat it in a few days." Working backwards from a fantasy outcome, they are struggling to find the script.
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 10/03/2020 - 9:46pm

Seductive reasoning by Abramson

I believe... {checks notes}... none of this. https://t.co/xzmoTuUOpO
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 4, 2020

PS/ Trump does nothing he doesn't want to do. He owns his doctors. The White House is well-equipped to handle his illness. The story being told now via "leaks" is some bizarro rewrite of a man not wanting his real condition to leak and knowing it won't from a military hospital.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 4, 2020

PS2/ Trump is a man who's spent his life abiding in colossal weakness, and having to construct a technicolor fantasyland just to hide that fact from the world. This illness is his nightmare, and he's punishing America with an insane tsunami of nonsense to keep from being "seen."
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 4, 2020

PS3/ Trump has spent a lifetime telling doctors and lawyers what to do—not the other way around. Only a (false) claim from his doctors that they *couldn't* treat him anywhere *but* Walter Reed would have convinced him, and there's no evidence they would ever dare to lie to him.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 4, 2020

PS4/ We know that on Friday Trump was—understandably—scared. He felt vulnerable. He knew press were in the building. He'd successfully used Walter Reed to hide conditions in the past, and he knew the media couldn't get to him there. There's every reason to think he wanted to go.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 4, 2020

PS5/ The idea that, on Friday, a 74-year-old with an untreatable deadly illness, 3+ co-morbidities, a very high fever, dropping oxygen levels, unstable vitals, and vocally afraid for his life was refusing to go to a safe, secure, classified hospital for presidents is *insane*.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 4, 2020

PS7/ I think that many people in media who have reported on but (apparently) never done any *research* on COVID-19 appear to actually believe it's like the flu—something maybe you can beat in 5-10 days. No. Trump will be suffering from this through the election, or faking health.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 1:14am

So Now Trump Has Earned Your Trust? A Note of Covid Caution from Michael Moore... https://t.co/6t3ZFa11io pic.twitter.com/Qx3OU4SHjj
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) October 2, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 2:18am

U.S president Trump isn’t staying in any old hospital room. Walter Reed Hospital has a six-room presidential suite just for the commander in chief that includes an intensive care unit, a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, & a dining room with a crystal chandelier. pic.twitter.com/QQVhFYjzLJ
— Richard Southern (@richard680news) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 3:25am

While income tax scofflaw Trump receives the best care America can provide for free, his lawyers will argue Nov. 11, before the Supreme Court, to force immediate cancellation of the healthcare insurance for millions of Americans by outlawing the ACA.

by NCD on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 9:46am

Lincoln Project, r u listning?

by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 10:50am

If Biden wins, what steps will be taken to cleanse the White House during the inauguration?

by rmrd0000 on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 9:33am

Trump's bodyman tests positive for COVID

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-04/trump-aide-luna-tests-positive-for-virus-in-new-white-house-case?srnd=premium

I think for many people downplaying COVID comes across as Trump being unable to protect himself, his wife, and his staff. How can he be trusted to protect the United States?

by rmrd0000 on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 12:15pm

Trump's base thinks Trump and the Republicans government job is to own the libs, as they have shown, they'll giddily give their lives to watch him and his GOP suck-ups do it.

Today's medical update: Trump is doing great, rarin' to get back campaigning ... yet is being medicated with the steroid dexamethasone, which according to WHO, should only be given to patients with “severe and critical Covid-19.”

by NCD on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 12:38pm

It not only gives contradictory information about his condition but doesn't makes sense with the earlier cocktails.

by moat on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 1:41pm

Dr. Gupta confirms Dr. moat's diagnosis:

You don’t start dexamethasone, Remdesivir and given an experimental antibody cocktail to the President in the setting of low oxygen “dips” unless there’s COVID Pneumonia.

What did his chest imaging show? The American people deserve basic information on their President
— Vin Gupta “” MD (@VinGuptaMD) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 2:33pm

“The distinction here is the incompetence.” That’s a Pulitzer right there, folks. https://t.co/88Pgu4mT3C
— Reed Galen (@reedgalen) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 2:35pm

Same opinion, said another way:

According to WIkipedia Baghdad Bob--Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf--is alive, living in the U.A.E. Wondering if journalists (or, say, @colbertlateshow producers) have tried talking to him about the Trump Administration's PR practitioners and strategy.
— Kurt Andersen (@KBAndersen) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 2:48pm

HIs Navy doctor Conley is a 14 year 0-5 rank, a rank and time in service not among the more seasoned or experienced. Also up for 0-6, the competitive promised land for promotion.

An "emergency doctor" not a geriatric long term care or intensive care.

Long term care for Navy doc's, especially 'emergency' docs, mean seeing a resilient 20-25 year old trying to get a sick leave chit, and a day off, before they go to sea within a few days.

by NCD on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 2:36pm

Mark Meadows in trouble for not talking things up:

Hearing same.

Start the clock. https://t.co/sjJLV3uoGK
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) October 4, 2020

"Upbeat Attitude" = lying. https://t.co/M84wZwWToR
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) October 4, 2020

& Jared in control:

Free lead:

Jared is now in control of the White House, including overriding personnel demanding that the Pence not travel due to COG issues.

The seat-fillers rebellion is ON.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 2:22pm

So, Jared doesn't want Pence in town when the POTUS kicks?

What the hell is he thinking?

by moat on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 2:42pm

Enquiring minds want to know if this opinion is informed by something the wife said or something Philippe said:

So I heard that we may finally find out the truth why they took Trump to Walter Reed last November. Let's hope we do. @PhilippeReines
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) October 4, 2020

Phillipe just retweeted it...confusing

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 4:11pm

And Bill Barr signs up to be the super spreader while others languish in hospitals and quarantine.

by moat on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 5:08pm

boggles the mind to see someone that hubristic about possibility of catching something; at least Trump has his germaphobe side

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 5:22pm

John Oliver: “There is something utterly infuriating about watching them hugging each other when many in this country haven’t seen their families for months or have died alone in a hospital” https://t.co/fyqMQ3i0dg
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) October 5, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 2:02am

The president, suffering from coronavirus, rides in an SUV in motorcade to greet his supporters outside Walter Reed. https://t.co/LopD5r3E7M
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 5:19pm

He's turned America into a reality TV show. So embarrassing. Exposing his secret service. Unconscionable.
— Angela (@mathmomma24) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 5:46pm

Forgot to mention, dexamethasone makes your brain dysfunction. This Stanford professor took it and made her brain warped. https://t.co/qIc9imKcUG
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 6:04pm

His off-the-charts narcissism stopped amazing me long ago. The refusal of others to stop feeding it is what I continue to find astounding. https://t.co/02Hck7o9z3
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 6:13pm

Walter Reed attending physician swipes at Trump for motorcade visit to supporters

BY BROOKE SEIPEL @ TheHill.com, 10/04/20 06:06 PM EDT

An attending physician at Walter Reed Medical Center swiped at President Trump for leaving his hospital room and waving to supporters gathered outside from his motorcade, saying it puts those in the vehicle at risk.

"That Presidential SUV is not only bulletproof, but hermetically sealed against chemical attack. The risk of COVID19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play," Dr. James P. Phillips, who is also the Chief of Disaster Medicine at George Washington University Emergency Medicine.

"Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential 'drive-by' just now has to be quarantined for 14 days. They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity," he continued [....]

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 6:52pm

Maggie Haberman (partly retweeted by Rick Wilson!)

Four pieces of information in that briefing: a) Trump's fever was "high" b) Trump's lung scans show "expected findings," unclear what that means but c) Trump is on a steroid the WHO recommends only for "severe and critical" COVID cases and d) Trump's oxygen lvls dropped again Sat
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 4, 2020

Conley says fever is gone now. He says president not on oxygen right now. The new information is important. Could they be reacting overly cautiously because he’s potus? Maybe but that steroid use in a 74 year old man w breathing probs is a flag and fever can be lowered w medicine
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 4, 2020

Also - this is a virus that bounces around in terms of good days and bad days till its conclusion, like other viruses, as Conley acknowledged. Unclear what factors they’re using for possible discharge.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 4, 2020

And one other point - steroids for lung performance have unpleasant side effects, like irritability and mood swings.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 6:10pm

Very helpful and clear, from Chair, UCSF Dept of Medicine. Career: What happens when a poli sci major becomes an academic physician. Latest book: The Digital Doctor....

Impressions of today's Walter Reed presser:

a) Conley's mea culpa: “I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude of the team. Didn’t want to give any information that would steer the course of his illness.” Trump's fingerprints.

But even so, today was only slightly better. (1/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020

b/ Biggest news is that T had 2 episodes of hypoxia (down to 93-94% O2 saturation), & Conley evaded whether sat was ever <90. "Never in low 80s" is all he offered.

c/ Re: Chest CT: "There were some expected findings but nothing of concern." What the hell does that mean?...(2/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020

...To be clear, the "expected findings" on a chest CT is NORMAL. If it was normal, he should say that. Anything else should have been described.

(The only semi-benign interpretation would be if the prez has a known chronic finding – like a benign nodule – that was seen)...(3/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020

... But it seems far likelier that they found evidence of pneumonia or other manifestations of Covid lung involvement or inflammation, which is serious and raises the level of concern and risk. (4/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020

d/ They pulled trigger & started dexamethasone. So they were clearly concerned. Given documented low O2, dex definitely was indicated.

e/ Said they're starting to plan for possible discharge, as early as tomorrow. Even w/ WH's medical capacity, that seems like an awful call. 5/8
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020

f/ Yes, they could give his last doses of IV remdesivir in WH, but still risky to discharge. In RECOVERY trial (which proved value of dexamethasone), mortality rate in TREATMENT group for pts requiring O2 was 23.3% (vs. 26.2% in usual care). A nearly 1-in-4 risk of death. (6/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020

g/ Finally, most tellingly: when T was hypoxic, they tried to put him on O2. "He was adamant he didn't need oxygen." In my 35 years of practice, I've never seen a pt refuse oxygen. It's crazy, & illustrates who is running the show, which may well be scariest thing I heard. (7/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020

Bottom line: it seems like Trump is stable, but remains at high risk, given transient hypoxemia, some findings on chest imaging. The happy talk and evasions are clearly at Trump's direction, putting the docs in a terrible position. No way he's ready for discharge tomorrow. (8/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 12:48am

The new use of the term disruption suddenly comes to mind. As in: intentional creative disruption. This is no way to run a presidential election, with reporters mainly concerned with figuring out whether candidates will be in or out of the hospital at any point in time or some such. Talk about distracting the media and the country, sheesh:

We have not heard from or seen Joe Biden in more than 24 hours. This is the latest interaction the press had with him. We’re still waiting on his test results, which the campaign said it would disclose. https://t.co/Jvlt62ZKOw
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) October 4, 2020

Yes, coronavirus policy is the most pressing priority in this country. But not how it affects just two people.

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 7:18pm

Okay, here's the update:

Joe Biden is negative for COVID-19, his campaign just announced. He was tested today.
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) October 4, 2020

But my point: this reporter is like spending a full day on this!

by artappraiser on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 7:28pm

Well, having your candidate die during the process is fairly disruptive.

by moat on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 7:33pm

Trump's non-taxes, FinCEN laundering, Parscale skimming, Ivanka double dipping, Putin election hacking...

by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 10:32pm

Amidst all this absolutely predictable, preventable news, I keep thinking about all the service staff and security who were knowingly put in danger across several states. Those are the people who will get my thoughts and prayers.
— roxane gay (@rgay) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 12:12am

Press secretary tests positive

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/05/trump-press-secretary-kayleigh-mcenany-tests-positive-for-coronavirus.html

by rmrd0000 on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 11:52am

Will certainly be interesting to see how she spins that. Edit to add: oops, I see she already has:

“As an essential worker, I have worked diligently to provide needed information to the American People at this time" she wrote.

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 4:34pm

Trump is going home.

I don't wish him any harm.

I also have to be honest and say that I don't care how he does.

by rmrd0000 on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 5:10pm

RATINGS!

NEWS: Trump wants to make a dramatic exit from Walter Reed. He plans to walk out the golden front doors on camera, sources tell @SalehaMohsin and me. He's shooting a video inside the hospital first, and then will walk to car and then to Marine One. No plan to speak to press. pic.twitter.com/DqLY6MvyXZ
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 5, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 6:08pm

I will be leaving the great Gibbons Dental Office today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of teeth cleaning. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under this administration, some really great fluoride & knowledge!
— jon gabriel (@exjon) October 5, 2020

Ridicule is our friend.

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 6:09pm

"it's only a toothache" - Herman 'Novo' Caine

by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 6:14pm

I'm starting to think that the president doesn't really take the risks of the pandemic very seriously.
— Philip Bump (@pbump) October 5, 2020

nor other human beings...they are just ratings...

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 6:28pm

He is so vain, he probably thinks Covid is about him.
He isn't taking his own mortality seriously.
It is as if El Cid insisted upon mounting the horse himself before he died so he could make sure the team got the look right.

by moat on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:03pm

He is so vain, he probably thinks Covid is about him.

It's overwhelming sometimes how good you are at pinpointing personality peccadilloes with words. Really.

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:29pm

I am ripping off Carly Simon.
It takes a village.

by moat on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:56pm

I got that. You have a lot of village in your brain.

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 8:01pm

Twitter "Politics Trending": People are sharing the late Herman Cain’s COVID-19 timeline as President Trump prepares to leave Walter Reed hospital on Monday

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 6:32pm

3 weeks to go? Could we be so lucky? But what about his taxes, all those incomplete investigations? Kind of bittersweet. Donnie we hardly knew thee (but what we did know was a septic tank of audacious swill and excrement - at least from first and lasting impressions)

by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 6:56pm

Steroid Superman Syndrome (read comments)

I've known cancer patients who are given similar steroids during chemo treatments. They charge them up with energy and doctors have to remind them it is the energy version of a sugar high.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 5, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:18pm

NYMag does contact tracing for Pence:

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.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) October 5, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 6:23pm

Josh Marshall opines that it is not wise for Kamala Harris being in the same room with Pence:

Agree. This is nuts. The most likely scenario at the moment is that Trump hadn’t been tested before the debate. An unimaginable amount of recklessness. Why would anyone trust them. https://t.co/Q9422mjzZw
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 6, 2020

And given what we know now about airborne indoor transmission, he's probably right, distancing and a plexi partition not enough unless they have a super duper air filtration system.

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 8:05pm

According to a poll conducted by ABC News and Ipsos nearly three out of four Americans believe that Trump failed to take the “risk of contracting the virus seriously enough” https://t.co/C7NIjZd4zE
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) October 5, 2020

Trump is basically filming a campaign commercial outside of the WH without a mask in the presence of photographers. Let me repeat: the president has coronavirus and is walking around without a mask.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 5, 2020

unless it's all play-acting. https://t.co/aD3sC8ieIF
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) October 5, 2020

Oates previous to that retweeted:this:

Trump used the disease to divert the news cycle from his tax evasion, his calling veterans suckers and American war dead losers, the 210,000 Americans dead on his watch, the millions out of work.
— Thomas Pluck (@thomaspluck) October 5, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:01pm

gonna get ratings even if it kills him?

The footage on playback that's running now shows Trump very obviously breathing heavily.
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) October 5, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:08pm

The gasping video.

Trump looks like he is gasping for air pic.twitter.com/4k2v4Jxlir
— Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) October 5, 2020

Tweeter is in charge of video for "The Recount" show, so pretty safe to presume is not altered.

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:25pm

I figured an orgasm as he thinks how sexy and virile he looks.

by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:34pm

That is straight up COPD. Probably was on the tank once out of view.

by moat on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 8:29pm

I don't know how to figure out where that video clip is hosted but I can see it says on it "10.7 million views". That's in a couple hours. Talk about ratings...

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 10:51pm

Trump appears to be wincing in pain while he breathes pic.twitter.com/YKhGhu0VN0
— Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) October 5, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 12:46am

Not pretty because that one especially makes me think of more than a pet peeve, I've lost more than one near and dear to the syndrome: the mind-over-matter approach to illness. The horror of what he's selling just hit me up close an personal. Denial is not a river in Egypt:

Buck up and be a man, ignore it.
Work through the pain
Think positive (add some hocus pocus on how your thoughts can activate the immune system)

There's so many more. (Got to say that I wouldn't be surprised if Marianne Williamson knew most of them).

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 1:15am

Yes, I have lost people who invested in that thinking.
But the worst burn has been from those who didn't accept the gravity of their situation despite very dire incidents.
They put the burden of worry on everyone around them but themselves.
When they died, they left a shit storm of entanglements to be sorted out by the survivors.

by moat on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 6:16pm

a shit storm of entanglements to be sorted out by the survivor

oh do they ever, been there and done that, waaaay beyond what I ever thought I could handle. The only way to attack the mountain and stay sane is baby steps each day, and you know what does? It eats time from your own life, you are basically finishing theirs instead.

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 6:54pm

Maybe some of that is inevitable.
But putting in a bit of effort beforehand will be appreciated.

by moat on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 7:04pm

Steroids like dex---- have quite a stimulative kick with many people, makes you feel energetic, can't sleep, don't feel you need sleep. Until you crash. The doc likely right, he's not out of the woods.

by NCD on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 8:58pm

And black vote suppression in 2016

I saw questions last night whether Parscale admittance to hospital related to NYT report. I would instead look across the Atlantic. This reporting in two hours can only lead to perjury charges for Parscale. https://t.co/2GwlNWQZ8n
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) September 28, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:11pm

there's more big news in another poll, though they got a lower figure on the covid question, he's finally crashing on the overall approval:

Trump approval at -17 in the new CNN/SSRS poll. Hard to think it'll be a strong poll for Trump in the ballot test v. Biden https://t.co/3BSjnp671Y
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) October 5, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 7:45pm

In all seriousness, the president seems high as a fucking kite.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) October 6, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 8:12pm

Kellyanne Conway daughter tests positive

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8804621/Kellyanne-Conways-daughter-15-announces-COVID-TikTok.html

by rmrd0000 on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 9:06pm

She's on my "Twitter Politics trending" again, but it's not that, it's this:

Claudia Conway, Kellyanne Conway’s teenage daughter, alleges on TikTok that President Trump is doing worse than he or his doctors are letting on

Right now, the top tweet at that link is this

Trending topics right now include "Claudia Conway," "Herman Cain," "Gasping," and "Mussolini" if you're wondering how Trump's day went.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) October 6, 2020

And that sort of serves the purpose of making me realize why I am paying attention to stuff like this on this topic. I don't normally do "vox populi" so heavily. But that's what this story is all about, it's about trying to manipulate reality and seeing how people react including in this day and age, manipulating what things go "viral". And it's a game for high stakes, the presidency of the U.S.

As far as Claudia Conway on TicToc, seems she's been proved right more often than not so far. And like a lot of supposedly more powerful people, she's got a lot of followers. So we'll see, what else can we do; without lots of followers, all one can affect is one's own vote, and one can be a watcher and analyzer and do something with that.

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 10:39pm

p.s. oh I see,I missed it at first, that line on my trending politics section does say at the end, in smaller letters, trending with Mussolini, heh.

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 10:45pm

Interesting tweet from David Plouffe and one reply to him I thought interesting as well

My days running Presidential campaigns are behind me, but my sense would be "I got COVID, I finally get it, Biden hasn't gotten it, now I'll take it seriously" is the worst closing argument in the history of closing arguments.
— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) October 5, 2020

You can bet that I’m showing up in person to vote. If any intimidation occurs in my red state polling stations they’ll have fucked with the wrong dude. I’ve lost family and am about to lose my uncle. His lungs hardened and he will die sometime this week. Trump is done. Biden in.
— Kent (@kbots8787) October 5, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 11:06pm

TRUMP DIGS COVID..!! He'd like to give it to YOU!

A winner?

by NCD on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 11:24pm

Ex-NJ Gov. Chris Christie speaks from hospital bed after COVID-19 diagnosis, feisty as ever | Moran - https://t.co/3iE513nply https://t.co/6MFPPZUif9
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) October 6, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 11:02pm

don't cry for me, Argentina:

#Queen https://t.co/FBHSPTrfh9
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) October 6, 2020

by artappraiser on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 11:16pm

I kept my promise??!?!

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 12:26am

Don’t cry for Donnie, America. The truth is, he never left you is used as a byline at this piece @ The Bulwark:

“Donald Trump’s photo op on the Truman Balcony following his return to the White House with COVID-19 is one of the most disturbing, absorbing, foreign images I can recall...I think this has to be the weirdest shit I have ever seen in my life.” https://t.co/GRdwZbWL6Q
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) October 6, 2020

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 1:15am

This speech so kray-kray

I kept waiting for some punchline or closure, but then I realized it was just his Twitter feed. This is where he's fallen and can't get up.

pic.twitter.com/OxmRcZ5nUZ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 1:30am

Rudy was part of Trump's debate prep team and says he's awaiting the results of a coronavirus test pic.twitter.com/UZI9TN67w6
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 6, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 12:49am

For the Biden campaign to end its noncombative period on social media suggests it thinks these images are extremely damaging for Trump. pic.twitter.com/QcjFnJqJLa
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) October 6, 2020

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 1:28am

Trump Actually Believes He Can Sell Himself to America as a COVID-Conquering Hero. The president spent his time in Walter Reed quizzing advisers about how his disease was “playing” in the press. He was also scheming.

By Aswain Suebsaeng, Sam Stein & Lachlan Markay @ DailyBeast.com, Updated Oct. 05, 2020 10:51PM ET

[....] during his time away from the White House, Trump spent his weekend frantically working the phones, compulsively watching TV, and flagrantly disregarding the advice of his own public-health officials.

“How is it playing?” the president quizzed several advisers and senior aides since Friday, polling them on their thoughts on how his diagnosis was being covered in the press.

He also was scheming. And at the top of his mind, according to three people with knowledge of his private comments, was how to reverse the damage that his campaign may be enduring by him being off the trail. Trump assured confidants that he would be back soon, though he wasn’t sure if he could commit to doing so in the coming week. And he previewed what is set to become the latest of many 2020 messaging reboots in the past few months.

The president repeatedly claimed that once he recovers from the coronavirus—for which First Lady Melania Trump, his campaign manager, debate sparing partner, press secretary, and other aides also tested positive—he’ll be able to present himself as a conqueror of it, both personally and politically.

The notion might seem far-fetched, considering the poor marks Trump’s received for his handling of the pandemic. But according to the knowledgeable sources, the president insisted that this would be a campaign asset, as he’d be able to say “I know what people are going through,” one of the sources recounted him saying. Allies argued that this could help frame Trump as both resilient and empathetic, which could come in handy in a race where polling shows a wide empathy gap between him and former Vice President Joe Biden.

“He’s become sort of a first responder. He has lived through it and been in the hospital,” Newt Gingrich, a former Republican House speaker and an informal adviser to Trump, said in an interview on Monday. “And he’s fearless. We are not the land of the timid and the home of the scaredy cats.”

By Monday morning, Trump’s campaign had begun test driving this newest 2020 sales pitch, brushing aside the reality that the president’s stubborn flouting of public-health and safety measures had directly contributed to his own infection, not to mention the deaths of 208,000 Americans. Indeed when he arrived back at the White House on Monday night, Trump walked onto the balcony for a photo op, during which he defiantly tore off the mask he was wearing, the heaviness of his breaths making clear that the disease was very much still in his system [....]

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 2:26am

from the above frame Trump as both resilient and empathetic, which could come in handy in a race where polling shows a wide empathy gap between him and former Vice President Joe Biden.

A reminder that Saturday night, before he left the White House for Walter Reed, in this video way upthread he was already affecting a kindler, gentler softly speaking character. So trying to bridge the empathy gap, that's someone else's idea, not his. Could be a pro or not, could also be Melania or Jvanka....

Edit to add: as usual, also seems like he's ruined whatever smart intentions there were, having time to ruminate on his own, and flip flop on his handlers, he decided to go more Mussolini....GOTTA BE ME, WHAT ELSE CAN I BE? you can almost see him singing.

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 3:04am

Two of press secretary's staffers test positive

https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-covid-19-updates-monday/h_2bfcf7fc5590c32a9371fd79464a1b49

by rmrd0000 on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 10:27am

Aha, things have changed . At this point Team Joe likes the situation of the media being obsessed with all things Trump:

Except Biden is perfectly happy to keep the focus on Trump, who has a deeply underwater approval rating. https://t.co/U3FTE6bXqU
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) October 5, 2020

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 10:38am

This is going on at the White House today. (This is the press area.) Video by @jabinbotsford. pic.twitter.com/46nFvIeKHs
— Dan Zak (@MrDanZak) October 6, 2020

He is and videographer are with WaPo.

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 10:45am

Top military leaders in quarantine

Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with several of the Pentagon’s most senior uniformed leaders, are quarantining after being exposed to the coronavirus, a Defense Department official said on Tuesday.

The official said almost the entirety of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including Gen. James C. McConville, the Army chief of staff, are quarantining after Adm. Charles Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, tested positive for coronavirus.

“We are aware that Vice Commandant Ray has tested positive for Covid-19 and that he was at the Pentagon last week for meetings with other senior military leaders,” Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement released by his office.

“Out of an abundance of caution, all potential close contacts from these meetings are self-quarantining and have been tested this morning,” he added. “No Pentagon contacts have exhibited symptoms and we have no additional positive tests to report at this time.”

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/06/us/trump-covid-live-updates?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage#top-us-military-leaders-including-the-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-of-staff-are-quarantining-after-being-exposed-to-the-virus

by rmrd0000 on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 3:07pm

Infecting Gold Star mothers

More pics from the White House Flickr page....you can see Chad Wolfe is there from DHS. Has anyone asked him about his status? pic.twitter.com/HhjR3KMC8j
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) October 6, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 6:10pm

the spreading is going super

Breaking—a number of @ABC News staff w/ direct contact with Chris Christie, who was an ABC News debate pundit, must now go into quarantine. ABC executives are absolutely fuming that Christie’s “reckless behavior is risking the lives of ABC News employees."https://t.co/ZVmcSZE3J2
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 3, 2020

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 4:28pm

YUGE, contacting allover the place, getting a good start on herd mentality?

Restaurant staffers in quarantine after working Trump fundraiser https://t.co/y7vduQKSU1
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 5, 2020

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 10:17pm

Stephen Miller has tested positive for COVID-19, a senior administration official tells @HallieJackson.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 6, 2020

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 6:44pm

P.S. For Miller it took 5 days of isolation before it showed:

NEW: Trump adviser and close aide Stephen Miller tested positive for coronavirus today, @HallieJackson reports. He's been working remotely for the last 5 days and has been self-isolating, testing negative every day through yesterday, per a senior administration official.
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) October 6, 2020

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 6:58pm

Stephen Miller inhales the Covid mist.

Edit: Whoops, previously reported.

by moat on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 9:32pm

Maggie Haberman & Ann Karni on what it's like at the White House right now:

.@anniekarni and me on the latest in a White House where people are simultaneously stunned by the virus outbreak there and yet still unconvinced it's a serious illness https://t.co/JdOETmfxYk
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 7, 2020

by artappraiser on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 9:53pm

Well, you can guess what Human Resources wanted to see on their resumes.

by moat on Tue, 10/06/2020 - 9:55pm

My dad was one of the 1,429. He died on Saturday at West Tennessee Healthcare in Dyersburg, TN. It’s not the flu, it’s not just going to disappear, you can’t beat it by being a tough guy. You have no idea how much pain this president has brought families like mine. https://t.co/S3Y73roehO
— Reid Johnson (@reidjhnsn) October 6, 2020

by artappraiser on Wed, 10/07/2020 - 3:15am

Crede Bailey, the head of the White House security office, became sick with the coronavirus before the Sept. 26 Rose Garden event, I'm told. https://t.co/h6xtIOzCLD
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 7, 2020

by artappraiser on Thu, 10/08/2020 - 12:17am

In the News

Russia plays weak hand in Palestine
Russia plays weak hand in Palestine

submitted by PeraclesPlease 8 months ago

The intra-Palestinian meeting in Moscow has precedent

Russia's hosted such meetings in the past, most recently Feb 2019

Russia has long lamented the US' "monopolization" of the peace process & tried to carve out a niche for itself: mediating among the disunited Palestinians/2
— Hanna Notte (@HannaNotte) February 29, 2024

Read the article at https://twitter.com/HannaNotte/status/1763116222256701787

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Mother Jones is Reaching out to Alternative Party Voters
Mother Jones is Reaching out to Alternative Party Voters

submitted by HSG 8 months ago

Here's what I told them: https://halginsberg.com/vote-for-jill-stein-again/

Read the article at https://halginsberg.com/vote-for-jill-stein-again/

2 comments

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Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes...
Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes into force

submitted by artappraiser 10 months ago

Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes into force https://t.co/pCoDg05irX
— Gareth Harris (@garethharr) December 28, 2023

Read the article at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/28/brazil-law-indigenous-land-rights-claim-time-marker?CMP=share_btn_tw

1 comment

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Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti (...
Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti (December 25, 2023)

submitted by artappraiser 10 months ago

Location: U.S. Embassy and residential compounds

Events: Heavy gunfire is occuring around the area of the U.S. Embassy and residential compounds adjacent to the Trutier area of Tabarre. All Embassy personnel have been instructed to remain indoors and shelter-in-place until further notice. All others should avoid the area.

Actions to take:

Avoid the area;

Avoid demonstrations and any large gatherings of people;

Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks; and

If you encounter a roadblock, turn around and get to a safe area.

Read the article at https://ht.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-port-au-prince-haiti-december-25-2023/

3 comments

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Pakistan Is Creating the World’s Next Refugee Crisis
Pakistan Is Creating the World’s Next Refugee Crisis

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

By The Editorial Board @ Bloomberg.com, December 8, 2023

A mass expulsion of Afghan migrants could destabilize the region and fuel radicalization. The West should pressure Islamabad to change course.

Read the article at https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-12-08/pakistan-s-expulsion-of-afghan-refugees-risks-another-crisis

6 comments

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Internet shut down in Chad
Internet shut down in Chad

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

All eyes on #Chad right now
Chad has two internet trunks coming into the country: One from the Red Sea via Sudan; the other from Cameroon. Not possible for the totality of the country's internet network to be shut unless done centrally. A lot of rumors swirling; few facts. https://t.co/N6bDJZ2ixO

Read the article at https://x.com/_hudsonc/status/1732891968709992511?s=20

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[Economy] where Joe's success falls short
[Economy] where Joe's success falls short

submitted by PeraclesPlease 11 months ago

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[CRIME News] 3 loss-prevention employees in Macy’s across...
[CRIME News] 3 loss-prevention employees in Macy’s across the street from Philadelphia City Hall stabbed

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

BREAKING: Three loss prevention employees in Macy’s across the street from Philadelphia City Hall stabbed, one of them has died from stab wounds, @PhillyPolice sources tell me. Police converged on the store as the three workers were rushed to Jefferson Hospital. pic.twitter.com/4U1eKycL4W

Read the article at https://x.com/KeeleyFox29/status/1731713272942940365?s=20

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Former U.S. Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As...
Former U.S. Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As Secret Agent For Cuba

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Former US Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As Secret Agent For Cuba https://t.co/LDwo4ZJI1K
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) December 4, 2023

Read the article at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/manuel-rocha-ambassador-arrested-cuba_n_656d1e2ae4b028b0f3d07478

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[War in Israel, Chapter II] UNRWA under scrutiny
[War in Israel, Chapter II] UNRWA under scrutiny

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

[Chapter I news is HERE, Oct. 7 til today]

You don’t get it.
It’s not about an UNRWA teacher who held an Israeli kid hostage in his house.
It’s all about how for 75 years you have destroyed the future of generations of Palestinians, including my family.
My cousins in Arab countries are still not citizens - not even the… https://t.co/nv6anubGhc
— George Deek (@GeorgeDeek) December 2, 2023

Note 'Community Notes' attached to UNWRA's statement.

Read the article at https://x.com/GeorgeDeek/status/1731020551328579863?s=20

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Maduro, Under Pressure, Holds Vote to Annex Territory From...
Maduro, Under Pressure, Holds Vote to Annex Territory From a Neighbor

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Imperialism for me but not for thee?

It's wild that Venezuela is now holding a vote on whether 2/3 of Guyana actually belongs to them! Analysts suggest that Modoru may want military action to pump up his sinking popularity.

Could we have a war in South America?!?

"The people who live in Essequibo are largely… pic.twitter.com/QvMEjkkgwy

Read the article at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/03/world/americas/maduro-vote-essequibo-guyana.html

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[Where is the GOP headed?] Divisions leave Florida’s House...
[Where is the GOP headed?] Divisions leave Florida’s House Republicans powerless

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

The lack of a cohesive delegation has allowed attention-seeking lawmakers to act on their own.

McCarthy: “You have [Rep. Matt] Gaetz, who belongs in jail…”

Gaetz: “Tough words from a guy who sucker punches people in the back. The only assault I committed was against Kevin’s fragile ego.”https://t.co/LctPuz6Pcf

Read the article at https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/29/divisions-leave-floridas-house-republicans-powerless-00129200

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‘She got so mad at me’: book on the ‘Squad’ details AOC-...
‘She got so mad at me’: book on the ‘Squad’ details AOC-Pelosi clashes

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

By Martinn Pengelly in Washington DC for TheGuardian.com, Nov. 30

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tells Ryan Grim life in Congress ‘completely transformed’ after Democratic leader stepped down

Read the article at https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/30/squad-book-aoc-nancy-pelosi?CMP=share_btn_tw

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US health insurers Humana, Cigna in talks to merge -source
US health insurers Humana, Cigna in talks to merge -source

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

@ Reuters, Nov. 29

Read the article at https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/us-health-insurers-humana-cigna-talks-merge-wsj-2023-11-29/

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Central Africa’s dinosaur regimes and the art of coup-...
Central Africa’s dinosaur regimes and the art of coup-proofing

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

"Both the AU and the intl community place more weight on whether elections are held than whether they are free and fair. Sanctions/expulsions occur when there is a coup but not necessarily when elections are rigged or if an “institutional coup” occurs." https://t.co/m9dNimJP0D
— Cameron Hudson (@_hudsonc) November 28, 2023

Read the article at https://africanarguments.org/2023/11/central-africas-dinosaur-regimes-and-the-art-of-coup-proofing/

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