Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the briefing room of the White House

Trump Says He Has Tested Positive for COVID-19

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At 12:54 AM on Friday, Donald Trump tweeted that he and his wife Melania have tested positive for COVID-19. Trump’s tweet came hours after news broke that White House advisor Hope Hicks, who traveled with the President this week, received a positive test result.

As The Washington Post puts it, Trump’s positive test comes “after months in which he has played down a pandemic that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and sickened millions more.”

A quarantine for the President and the first lady had been announced on Thursday night in conjunction with the news about Hicks, but no mention was made of their test results until Trump, in typical fashion, decided to get ahead of the story in the early hours of Friday.

Trump’s continued flouting of basic precautions to help stem the spread of the coronavirus was still in effect even after Hicks’ symptoms became apparent. Per The Post:

After White House officials learned of Hicks’ symptoms, Trump and his entourage flew to New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser and delivered a speech. Trump was in close contact with dozens of other people, including campaign supporters at a roundtable event.

Twitter is alight right now with reaction and speculation. The hashtag #TrumpHasCovid is a good place to start if you want to dip your toe into those waters.

This is a developing story, and we’ll update as more information becomes available.

(image: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.