President Donald Trump, who tested positive for the coronavirus early Friday, started a multi-day stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
First lady Melania Trump, who is quarantining, also tested positive for the coronavirus.
The president’s stunning announcement plunged the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the election.
Here are the latest developments:
9:08 p.m. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany releases a statement from President Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley. Dr. Conley said the president has completed his second round of Remdesivir without any complications. He said the president is “not yet out of the woods,” but his team of physicians “remain cautiously optimistic.” Read the full statement below.
8:36 p.m.: Citing three unnamed Republicans close to the White House, Vanity Fair reported Trump had a 103-degree Fahrenheit fever and was given oxygen. Two unnamed sources told the publication he had heart palpitations Friday night, which could be a side effect of the experimental antibody cocktail he was given by his physician.
7 p.m.: In a video tweeted Saturday evening, President Trump once again thanked staff at Walter Reed and gave an update on his health.
In a 4-minute message, Trump ranges from saying he will beat the coronavirus to acknowledging “largely bipartisan” support for him amid his diagnosis.
“I came here, wasn’t feeling so well. I feel much better now," he said. “We’re working hard to get me all the way back.”
6:50 p.m.: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tweeted that he is hospitalized. He did so citing his history of asthma as a precautionary measure. “I am feeling good and only have mild symptoms,” he said.
“I am thankful for our hardworking medical professionals and look forward to coming home soon,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet.
Last week, Christie attended the Rose Garden event in which Trump officially announced Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court pick. He also helped prepare Trump ahead of the presidential debate, staying in Washington from Saturday to Tuesday. While preparing for the debate, he told ABC it was done maskless in a room of multiple people. He said he was tested every day he was in Washington.
4:49 p.m.: An unnamed White House official told CBS News' Sara Cook that Trump first tested positive for the coronavirus Oct. 1 from a rapid test after his fundraiser event in Bedminster, New Jersey. From there, he took a more accurate test, in which it takes longer to get results.
The news comes a day after an attendee said Trump appeared lethargic at the event, Maggie Haberman with The New York Times reported. An email has also gone out to attendees asking them to contact a medical provider if they have symptoms of the coronavirus, according to Vice News’ Elizabeth Landers.
3:05 p.m.: A rep for Sen. Ted Cruz said he tested negative for the coronavirus and is staying at home “out of an abundance of caution.”
2:20 p.m.: A spokesperson for Regeneron, the biotechnology company whose antibody cocktail was administered to Trump by his physician following his coronavirus diagnosis, told CBS News reporter Amy Birnbaum that Dr. Conley’s letter was incorrect.
“It is two monoclonal antibodies," the spokesperson said of Conley’s referral to administering “polyclonal antibody therapy” in the memo. "It was incorrect in the physician’s letter.”
2 p.m.: Trump’s doctor issued a statement saying he used terms “incorrectly” when discussing the president’s heath Saturday morning.
“This morning while summarizing the President’s health, I incorrectly used the term ‘seventy two hours’ instead of ‘day three’ and ‘forty eight hours’ instead of ‘day two’ with regards to his diagnosis and the administration of the polyclonal antibody therapy," Dr. Sean Conley said. “The President was first diagnosed with COVID-19 on the evening of Thursday, October 1st and had received Regeneron’s antibody cocktail on Friday, October 2nd.”
1:24 p.m.: President Trump tweeted praise for staff at Walter Reed Medical Center and said “Tremendous progress has been made over the last 6 months” in response to the coronavirus.
“With their help, I am feeling well," he tweeted.
The tweet comes after reports from some media, citing unnamed sources, that the next few days will be important for Trump’s care.
1:10 p.m.: According to an unnamed source to The New York Times, “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 Times reported that two unnamed sources said Trump had difficulty breathing Friday and his oxygen levels dropped, requiring him to get supplemental oxygen from his doctors at the White House.
12:50 p.m.: A White House official tells journalist Yamiche Alcindor that Trump was given Regeneron’s experimental drug cocktail the night of his diagnosis, which was Thursday. Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, meant to say it’s day 3, not 72 hours since his positive COVID-19 test.
11:39 a.m.: Dr. Sean Conley, the president’s physician, reported the president is “doing very well.” Conley appeared in a media briefing, flanked by several other Walter Reed nurses and physicians.
Conley and his team are “extremely happy” with the progress the president is making. Physicians said the president is being monitored very closely, and is not on oxygen and walking around his suite of offices. Trump told one of the physicians “he feels like he could walk out of here today.”
Physicians said Trump has been fever-free for more than 24 hours and is being encouraged to eat, drink and remain active. Chief of staff Mark Meadows is reported to “have plenty of work” to do.
There are no estimates when Trump could be discharged. Physicians declined to say if the president has ever been on oxygen during his treatment and has not reported any difficulty breathing. First lady Melania Trump is convalescing at the White House and physicians said she is not anticipated to need hospitalization.
11:37 a.m.: Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie said he has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Christie, who was one of a half-dozen advisers closely involved with helping the president prepare for his debate Tuesday with Joe Biden, told ABC News on Friday that “no one was wearing masks in the room when we were prepping the president.”
10:19 a.m.: Vice President Mike Pence is reported to have been tested again for the coronavirus, with negative results.
9:52 a.m. Dr. Sean Conley is scheduled to provide an update on the president’s condition at 11 a.m., according Judd Deere, deputy assistant to the president.
9 a.m.: U.S. Sen Ron Johnson becomes the third GOP senator to test COVID-19 positive.
Saturday, 7:30 a.m.: Late Friday, the president’s physician issued an update that said Trump is “doing very well” and is “not requiring any supplemental oxygen.” But he said that, “in consultation with specialists we have elected to initiate Remdesivir therapy,” an antiviral medication.
“He has completed his first dose and is resting comfortably,” Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley wrote.
Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who was at last Saturday’s Rose Garden announcement of Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, was the latest person at that event to announce testing postive for the coronavirus.
The Associated Press also reported that Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, tested positive. Campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh confirmed news, first reported by Politico, that Stepien received a diagnosis Friday and is experiencing “mild flu-like symptoms.” Stepien, who joined Trump at Tuesday’s first presidential debate, plans to quarantine until he recovers.
Friday, 9 p.m.: Senator Thom Tillis' campaign headquarters has shuttered upon news of his positive coronavirus diagnosis. Staffers exposed to Tillis will quarantine and be tested “in the coming days.” It was not clear in the campaign statement how long staffers will quarantine.
8:39 p.m.: Former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wish President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump “a speedy recovery, and hope for the safety of the White House staff, the Secret Service, and others putting their lives on the line."
8:21 p.m.: Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) has tested positive for the coronavirus. Tillis was among a number of attendees at Trump’s Rose Garden event last weekend in which he announced his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Bennett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. Utah Senator Mike Lee, who also tested positive, was at the event.
Many attendees were not seen wearing a mask and seating did not appear to be six-feet apart.
8 p.m: CNN’s Jim Acosta reported that, according to an unnamed source he referred to as a Trump adviser, there is a concern for Trump’s health. The source said Trump was fatigued, tired and having trouble breathing.
7:20 p.m.: Trump was taken to Walter Reed’s presidential suite, not the emergency room, according to CBS News reporter Ben Tracy.
7:10 p.m.: Former President Barack Obama wishes President Trump and Melania Trump a “speedy recovery."
7 p.m.: Ivanka Trump, who has reportedly tested negative for the coronavirus, wishes her father well as he arrives at Walter Reed Medical Center.
6:40 p.m.: Trump has been seen arriving at Walter Reed on Marine One Friday evening.
6:30 p.m.: Trump appeared without a mask in a video message posted on his Twitter page. In the video, he announced he was going to Walter Reed and thanked supporters. He also provided an update on the first lady.
“I want to thank everybody for the tremendous support,” he said in the video. “I’m going to Walter Reed hospital. I think I’m doing very well, but we’re going to make sure that things work out. The first lady is doing very well. So thank you very much. I appreciate it. I will never forget it. Thank you.”
6:17 p.m.: The president was seen walking to toward Marine One ahead of his transfer to Walter Reed, Jim Acosta reported. Trump was seen wearing a mask while boarding.
6:12 p.m.: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly wished the president a full recovery, according to news outlet Yonhap.
6 p.m.: Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was not informed of the president’s transfer to Walter Reed, reporter Jake Sherman tweeted.
5:55 p.m.: Regeneron confirmed providing the antibody cocktail to the president, according to reporter Carl Quintanilla.
5:52 p.m.: There has been “no discussion” on Capitol Hill of executing the 25th Amendment if the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office” during treatment, according to reporter Chad Pergram.
5:40 p.m.: The president plans to walk to Marine One from the White House ahead of his transfer to Walter Reed, according to reporter Gabriel Sherman.
5:32 p.m.: White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah said Trump has not transferred power to Pence, according to reporter Geoff Bennett.
5:20 p.m.: Trump is traveling to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he will remain for a “few days” on the advice of doctors, the White House said.
4:20 p.m.: Sean Conley, Trump’s physician, he is “fatigued but in good spirits.” Trump was given one 8 gram dose of biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' antibody cocktail.
Just days earlier, on Sept. 29, the company announced the first results of an early-stage clinical trial of the cocktail, which it said “reduced viral load and the time to alleviate symptoms in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19.” In the trial, 275 COVID-19 patients were tested.
Also in the letter, Coney said Melania Trump has a mild cough and headache and the rest of the first family tested negative.
4:15 p.m.: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has tested negative for the coronavirus.
4 p.m.: Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, had the coronavirus over the summer, according to two administration officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
2:51 p.m.: Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe tests negative for the coronavirus.
2:29 p.m.: Vice President Mike Pence’s physician said Pence does not need to quarantine because he has not been in close contact with anyone who has tested positive.
1:45 p.m.: Trump’s reelection campaign has announced the postponement of all of the president’s upcoming appearances. Some events may be held virtually.
1:31 p.m.: President Trump reportedly plans to tap Vice President Mike Pence to assume his duties if his coronavirus symptoms worsen.
12:45 p.m.: Vice President Mike Pence replaced Trump on a 12:15 p.m. conference call with some of the nation’s governors concerning coronavirus support for vulnerable seniors.
12:11 p.m.: Trump’s reelection campaign is asking anyone who attended Thursday night’s New Jersey fundraiser to get tested for the coronavirus if they’re experiencing any symptoms.
11:42 a.m.: U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, announced he has tested positive for the coronavirus.
10:51 a.m.: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said “we discovered right as Marine One was taking off” on Thursday that White House senior counselor Hope Hicks had tested positive for the coronavirus.
9:40 a.m.: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she’s praying for the president and hopes his testing positive for COVID-19 might be a “learning experience” about the virus. “Let us all pray for the president’s health,” Pelosi said on MSNBC, adding, “This is tragic, It is very sad.” The speaker said she was tested out of caution and is awaiting results. She also warned against “brazen” behavior that allowed “something like this to happen”
9:33 a.m.: NBC’s Peter Alexander is told it’s “business as usual” for the president, who is experiencing “mild symptoms.”
9:30 a.m.: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were tested again for the coronavirus, with negative results.
9:27 a.m.: Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, reportedly tested positive on Wednesday for the coronavirus, and was experiencing mild symptoms.
9:17 a.m.: Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris wishes Trump and first a “full and speedy recovery.” She was not in Cleveland on Tuesday night when Trump faced Biden for the first presidential debate of the campaign. Biden and Harris have repeatedly urged the use of masks and have embraced social distancing to stop spread of the virus.
8:45 a.m.: Democratic White House nominee Joe Biden and his wife send best wishes to Trump and Mrs. Trump.
8:38 a.m.: Trump is reported to have minor symptoms, according to The New York Times. He was reported to be “lethargic” at a New Jersey fundraiser Thursday night.
8:22 a.m.: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, fifth in the presidential succession line, tests negative for the coronavirus.
7:52 a.m.: Vice President Mike Pence and Mrs. Pence both test negative for the coronavirus, according to Pence’s press secretary, Devin O’Malley.
4:44 a.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, fourth in line for presidential succession, said he and his wife have tested negative for the virus.
1:59 a.m.: Vice President Mike Pence reacts to the news.
1:46 a.m.: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' staff said he has tested negative for the virus each day this week.
1:27 a.m.: First Lady Melania Trump confirms the president’s announcement.
1:11 a.m.: President Trump’s doctor said he will continue to carry out his duties “without distruption.”
Original story:
Trump’s announcement came hours after he confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of his most trusted and longest-serving aides, had been diagnosed with the virus Thursday.
Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private information. She was isolated from other passengers aboard the plane, the person said.
Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and did not appear visibly ill. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.
The diagnosis marks a blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them. In the best of cases, if he develops no symptoms, which can include fever, cough and breathing trouble, it will force him off the campaign trail just weeks before the election.
Trump’s handling of the pandemic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Democrat Joe Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware because of the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday night’s debate.
“I don’t wear masks like him,” Trump said of Biden. “Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”
There was no immediate comment from the Biden campaign on whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at the debate with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols.
Trump had been scheduled to attend a fundraiser and hold another campaign rally in Sanford, Florida, on Friday evening. But just after 1 a.m., the White House released a revised schedule with only one event: a phone call on “COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors.”
Hicks had been with Trump and other senior staff aboard Marine One and Air Force One en route to that rally and had accompanied the president to Tuesday’s presidential debate in Cleveland, along with members of the Trump family. They did not wear masks during the debate, in violation of the venue rules.
Multiple White House staffers have previously tested positive for the virus, including Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert O’Brien and one of the president’s personal valets.
But Trump has played down concerns about being personally vulnerable, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened. Since the coronavirus emerged earlier this year, Trump has refused to abide by basic public health guidelines — including those issued by his own administration — such as wearing masks in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, he has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of supporters.
“I felt no vulnerability whatsoever,” he said told reporters back in May.
The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen the economy without driving virus transmission. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen.
Questions remain about why it took so long for Trump to be tested and why he and his aides continued to come to work and travel after Hicks fell ill. Trump traveled to New Jersey on Thursday for a fundraiser, exposing attendees to the virus.
Pence's aides had no immediate comment on whether the vice president had been tested or in contact with Trump.
It is unclear where the Trumps and Hicks may have caught the virus, but in his Fox interview, Trump seemed to suggest it may have been spread by someone in the military or law enforcement.
“It’s very, very hard when you are with people from the military or from law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you,” he said, “because we really have done a good job for them. And you get close. And things happen.”
The White House began instituting a daily testing regimen for the president’s senior aides after earlier positive cases close to the president. Anyone in close proximity to the president or vice president is also tested every day, including reporters.
Yet since the early days of the pandemic, experts have questioned the health and safety protocols at the White House and asked why more wasn’t being done to protect the commander in chief. Trump continued to shake hands with visitors long after public health officials were warning against it, and he initially resisted being tested.
Trump is far from the first world leader to test positive for the virus, which previously infected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized last month while fighting what he called a “hellish” case of COVID-19.
While there is currently no evidence that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness.
The Constitution’s 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which the president can declare himself “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted “a written declaration to the contrary.”
The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would “immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President” until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.`
The Associated Press and Rich Barak of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.
