theguardian--2020-10-04--Trump's steroid Covid treatment adds to confusion over health

The latest intervention from Donald Trump ’ s medical team has been to put the president on dexamethasone , a steroid that is proven , thanks to the UK ’ s Recovery trial , to benefit Covid-19 patients who are having breathing difficulties .
But the decision to administer the steroid now has only added to the confusion surrounding the president ’ s state of health .
Normally , dexamethasone is reserved for patients who have been ill for at least a week and whose oxygen levels are low .
Peter Openshaw , a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the UK government ’ s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group , said : “ It would be unusual to be starting steroids with a relatively short duration of illness .
It ’ s normally reserved for people who have had symptoms for a week or more and who are going into respiratory failure.
” Doctors said on Sunday that on Friday and Saturday Trump ’ s oxygen saturation levels had twice dipped below 94 % – the usual range being 95 to 100 % .
But in answer to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ below 90 % , the White House physician , Sean Conley , said it had never reached the low 80s .
The update has prompted concerns among some doctors about the president ’ s condition .
Nicholas Christakis , a physician and sociologist at Yale University , said “ Either he is sicker than they have let on and clearly warrants dexamethasone , or he ’ s not so sick , and therefore putting him on dexamethasone is irresponsible.
” The Recovery trial found that the drug improved survival chances and shortened hospital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low enough to need treatment with oxygen , and worked better still in patients who required ventilation .
The update came a day after Trump posted a buoyant video from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on Saturday in which he seemed eager to return to the fray , and the White House , in the run-up to the coming election .
Trump may have looked a little paler than usual , but he did not seem overly fatigued , his breath was not laboured , and there was no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president declared he was “ feeling much better ” than when admitted on Friday , he conceded that the next few days were “ the real test ” .
There is a pattern to Covid-19 that doctors have learned since the pandemic first spilled out of China and swept around the world .
Patients who develop symptoms typically have them mildly for a week or so : a fever , headaches , the cough , perhaps a loss of taste or smell .
The crunch point comes later , around day eight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ becomes clearer whether the patient has got on top of the infection , or the virus has reached deep into the lungs and triggered an excessive inflammatory reaction that can overwhelm them .
Conflicting messages from Trump ’ s doctors and the White House chief of staff , Mark Meadows , had already sowed confusion about when the president first tested positive and the timeline of his medical care since being diagnosed .
Whatever the reality , the crucial period will be the end of the coming week .
Trump was reportedly given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being moved to hospital , a sign the virus had begun to affect his lungs .
On Sunday doctors said his oxygen saturation was at 98 % .
Beyond monitoring the president ’ s vital signs and oxygen levels , doctors will have taken chest X-rays and CT scans to check for damage in the lungs .
These , taken on arrival at hospital , along with white blood cell counts , can give doctors an early warning of whether the illness is on course to be severe .
Coronavirus patients have described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treatments may be helping Trump fight the infection .
The FDA approved remdesivir for emergency use in May after studies suggested it helped people recover more quickly .
But with remdesivir , timing is crucial .
Antivirals are most effective when the infection is ramping up .
With Covid-19 , the peak in replication happens about the same time that symptoms emerge .
Getting in early matters ; it is unclear whether the drug is much use if the virus has already done its damage .
The same is true for the experimental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Regeneron ’ s Regn-Cov2 is a blend of two human , but manufactured , antibodies .
It works by gumming up the spike proteins that protrude from the viral surface , and which the virus uses to invade human cells .
The therapy has yet to be approved , but in trial patients it has reduced the amount of circulating virus .
That should be be good news for recovery , but proof must come from larger trials , which are now afoot in the US and UK .
As Martin Landray , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the University of Oxford , puts it : “ They have been too small to know whether they improve patient outcomes such as reducing the duration of hospital stay , reducing the need for mechanical ventilation , or improving survival.
” Trump ’ s doctors have more options at hand , and if they make an appearance in the week , they could be revealing about the president ’ s condition .
When patients are at risk of blood clots and strokes – a complication seen all too often in the pandemic – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
More experimental , and a surprise if used , is interferon , another unproven experimental treatment that is in trials to see if it can help coordinate a robust immune response .

The latest intervention from Donald Trump’s medical team has been to put the president on dexamethasone, a steroid that is proven, thanks to the UK’s Recovery trial, to benefit Covid-19 patients who are having breathing difficulties.
But the decision to administer the steroid now has only added to the confusion surrounding the president’s state of health. Normally, dexamethasone is reserved for patients who have been ill for at least a week and whose oxygen levels are low.
Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, and a member of the UK government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, said: “It would be unusual to be starting steroids with a relatively short duration of illness. It’s normally reserved for people who have had symptoms for a week or more and who are going into respiratory failure.”
Doctors said on Sunday that on Friday and Saturday Trump’s oxygen saturation levels had twice dipped below 94% – the usual range being 95 to 100%. But in answer to a question about whether the level ever fell below 90%, the White House physician, Sean Conley, said it had never reached the low 80s.
The update has prompted concerns among some doctors about the president’s condition. Nicholas Christakis, a physician and sociologist at Yale University, said “Either he is sicker than they have let on and clearly warrants dexamethasone, or he’s not so sick, and therefore putting him on dexamethasone is irresponsible.”
The Recovery trial found that the drug improved survival chances and shortened hospital stays among patients with blood oxygen levels low enough to need treatment with oxygen, and worked better still in patients who required ventilation.
The update came a day after Trump posted a buoyant video from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on Saturday in which he seemed eager to return to the fray, and the White House, in the run-up to the coming election.
Trump may have looked a little paler than usual, but he did not seem overly fatigued, his breath was not laboured, and there was no new cough in evidence. But while the president declared he was “feeling much better” than when admitted on Friday, he conceded that the next few days were “the real test”.
There is a pattern to Covid-19 that doctors have learned since the pandemic first spilled out of China and swept around the world. Patients who develop symptoms typically have them mildly for a week or so: a fever, headaches, the cough, perhaps a loss of taste or smell. The crunch point comes later, around day eight to 10. That is when it becomes clearer whether the patient has got on top of the infection, or the virus has reached deep into the lungs and triggered an excessive inflammatory reaction that can overwhelm them.
Conflicting messages from Trump’s doctors and the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had already sowed confusion about when the president first tested positive and the timeline of his medical care since being diagnosed.
Whatever the reality, the crucial period will be the end of the coming week. Trump was reportedly given supplemental oxygen at the White House before being moved to hospital, a sign the virus had begun to affect his lungs. On Sunday doctors said his oxygen saturation was at 98%.
Beyond monitoring the president’s vital signs and oxygen levels, doctors will have taken chest X-rays and CT scans to check for damage in the lungs. These, taken on arrival at hospital, along with white blood cell counts, can give doctors an early warning of whether the illness is on course to be severe.
Coronavirus patients have described symptoms coming and going, but two treatments may be helping Trump fight the infection. The FDA approved remdesivir for emergency use in May after studies suggested it helped people recover more quickly. But with remdesivir, timing is crucial. Antivirals are most effective when the infection is ramping up. With Covid-19, the peak in replication happens about the same time that symptoms emerge. Getting in early matters; it is unclear whether the drug is much use if the virus has already done its damage.
The same is true for the experimental cocktail of antibodies that Trump received. Regeneron’s Regn-Cov2 is a blend of two human, but manufactured, antibodies. It works by gumming up the spike proteins that protrude from the viral surface, and which the virus uses to invade human cells. The therapy has yet to be approved, but in trial patients it has reduced the amount of circulating virus.
That should be be good news for recovery, but proof must come from larger trials, which are now afoot in the US and UK. As Martin Landray, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Oxford, puts it: “They have been too small to know whether they improve patient outcomes such as reducing the duration of hospital stay, reducing the need for mechanical ventilation, or improving survival.”
Trump’s doctors have more options at hand, and if they make an appearance in the week, they could be revealing about the president’s condition. When patients are at risk of blood clots and strokes – a complication seen all too often in the pandemic – doctors administer anti-platelet or perhaps anticoagulant drugs. More experimental, and a surprise if used, is interferon, another unproven experimental treatment that is in trials to see if it can help coordinate a robust immune response.


theguardian--2020-10-05--'We can't let them win': activists warn against Trump's voter intimidation tactics

An increasingly desperate Donald Trump is aiming to win re-election not at the ballot box but through voter intimidation , courts and counting rooms , US activists have warned .
Trailing rival Joe Biden in every opinion poll , there are fears that Trump , who has now in hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus , is betting on tens of thousands of volunteer “ poll watchers ” – potentially including far-right militias and vigilantes – as well as loyal Republican politicians in battleground states to save his presidency .
“ He ’ s willing to do anything he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sense of integrity , any sense of decency , any sense of anything that any normal human being would think is acceptable in a real country , ” said LaTosha Brown , a civil rights activist and co-founder of Black Voters Matter .
The threat prompted 12 Democratic state governors this week to issue an unprecedented joint statement defending American democracy and pledging that every valid ballot will be counted .
During Tuesday night ’ s first presidential debate , Trump told supporters to “ go into the polls and watch very carefully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widespread electoral fraud and added : “ I am urging my people – I hope it ’ s going to be a fair election – if it ’ s a fair election I am 100 % on board .
But if I see tens of thousands of ballots being manipulated I can ’ t go along with it.
” The comments followed a recent video in which a puffy-eyed Donald Trump Jr warned darkly : “ The radical left are laying the groundwork to steal this election from my father , President Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happen .
We need every able-bodied man , woman to join army for Trump ’ s election security operation.
” To this end , the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee ( RNC ) are reportedly working to raise 50,000 volunteers .
Yet most states have strict rules to prevent partisan election monitors interfering in the process .
Brown said : “ This is another tactic to intimidate folks at the polls .
He ’ s not interested in poll watchers ; he wants poll intimidators .
But it ’ s not going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter is there are more of us in this country that believe in democracy than there are of them.
” There have already been flashpoints .
Last month Democrats accused Trump supporters of voter intimidation after they held a rally outside a voting centre in Fairfax county , Virginia .
In Pennsylvania , a swing state , the Trump campaign is seeking to overturn a state law that requires partisan observers to be registered voters in the county .
Maxine Waters , a Democratic congresswoman from California , told the MSNBC network on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ targeting minority communities , targeting low-income communities and making sure that they do everything possible to intimidate and frighten and keep people from voting .
We ’ ve got to see to it that the local police are there when his hoodlums drive up on their motorcycles with their guns.
” Trump fuelled such concerns at the debate when he failed to denounce white supremacists , telling the rightwing Proud Boys group to “ stand back and stand by ” .
Katie Hill , a former Democratic congresswoman from California , said : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this is to stir up trouble and to scare people away from the polls because of a very real fear of the white supremacists that are enabled and encouraged by Trump and his rhetoric .
“ He just gave a call to action for the Proud Boys that are a known white supremacist group , that are known to carry weapons , that are known to be violent .
If people are hearing that the Proud Boys are going to show up at the polls , some people are going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they want to have happen .
They want them to not vote.
” The RNC insists that its poll watchers will be trained and abide by state laws .
But Democrats have hired voter protection directors in 19 states and plan to mobilise thousands of volunteers and lawyers on election day .
Meanwhile demand for early and mail-in voting has risen sharply this year as people look for a way to cast their ballots without risk of infection by the coronavirus .
Nearly 1.6 million Americans have already voted , according to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida .
But Trump openly admitted to withholding funding from the postal service as a way to curb mail-in voting , citing baseless allegations of fraud .
Republicans are also waging court battles to purge voters from registration rolls and , even when the votes are in , Trump has political and legal tools at his disposal .
This week Republicans in Pennsylvania ’ s state house of representatives drew up a bill that would create a committee with the power “ to investigate , review and make recommendations concerning the regulation and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The committee would be made up of five members , including three from the Republican majority in the House .
Malcolm Kenyatta , a Democratic state congressman , warned a committee : “ This bill is a fraud .
Democracies die slowly , and I think this bill would be a fatal blow to our democracy.
” In addition , the Atlantic magazine reported last month that the Trump campaign has been discussing “ contingency plans ” with Republicans who control state legislatures in battleground states to override inconvenient results by appointing loyal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ college .
Such moves could run into challenges from lawyers and Democratic governors and prove a dramatic stress test for America ’ s system of checks and balances .
Tara Setmayer , a political analyst and former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill , said : “ I think that there are still Republicans out there who are in positions like this that recognise the gravity of messing around with election integrity .
In the states where we have to worry about that , I ’ m confident that the Biden campaign and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem officials would be .
“ They are stocking up on election lawyer experts to challenge if any shenanigans take place .
They are fully prepared and that ’ s where the courts , which are for the most part apolitical , and the judicial system come in , and may have to referee in places where shenanigans are pulled.
” Some analysts remain cautiously optimistic that the 2020 election will still be decided by the voters rather than by vigilantes , lawyers or state politicians .
Myrna Pérez , director of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elections programme , said : “ We need to take these threats very seriously but I also think we need to remember there are lots of protections and lots more Americans that want free , fair and accessible elections than want to intimidate and discriminate against voters.
” She added : “ We can ’ t let those folks win .
We can ’ t let the intimidators and the discriminators deter the rest of us from exercising our fundamental right to vote .
We need be prepared .
We need to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we can to prevent it .
We need to know what to do in case it happens .
But the number one thing we need to do is make sure we still go out and vote .
”

An increasingly desperate Donald Trump is aiming to win re-election not at the ballot box but through voter intimidation, courts and counting rooms, US activists have warned.
Trailing rival Joe Biden in every opinion poll, there are fears that Trump, who has now in hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus, is betting on tens of thousands of volunteer “poll watchers” – potentially including far-right militias and vigilantes – as well as loyal Republican politicians in battleground states to save his presidency.
“He’s willing to do anything he can to fundamentally undermine democracy, any sense of integrity, any sense of decency, any sense of anything that any normal human being would think is acceptable in a real country,” said LaTosha Brown, a civil rights activist and co-founder of Black Voters Matter.
The threat prompted 12 Democratic state governors this week to issue an unprecedented joint statement defending American democracy and pledging that every valid ballot will be counted.
During Tuesday night’s first presidential debate, Trump told supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully”. He recycled false claims of widespread electoral fraud and added: “I am urging my people – I hope it’s going to be a fair election – if it’s a fair election I am 100% on board. But if I see tens of thousands of ballots being manipulated I can’t go along with it.”
White House handout photo shows Donald Trump working in his conference room at Walter Reed on 3 October. Photograph: Joyce N Boghosian/The White House/AFP/Getty Images
The comments followed a recent video in which a puffy-eyed Donald Trump Jr warned darkly: “The radical left are laying the groundwork to steal this election from my father, President Donald Trump … We cannot let that happen. We need every able-bodied man, woman to join army for Trump’s election security operation.”
To this end, the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee (RNC) are reportedly working to raise 50,000 volunteers. Yet most states have strict rules to prevent partisan election monitors interfering in the process.
Brown said: “This is another tactic to intimidate folks at the polls. He’s not interested in poll watchers; he wants poll intimidators. But it’s not going to work because the truth of the matter is there are more of us in this country that believe in democracy than there are of them.”
There have already been flashpoints. Last month Democrats accused Trump supporters of voter intimidation after they held a rally outside a voting centre in Fairfax county, Virginia. In Pennsylvania, a swing state, the Trump campaign is seeking to overturn a state law that requires partisan observers to be registered voters in the county.
Maxine Waters, a Democratic congresswoman from California, told the MSNBC network on Thursday: “They’re subtly targeting minority communities, targeting low-income communities and making sure that they do everything possible to intimidate and frighten and keep people from voting. We’ve got to see to it that the local police are there when his hoodlums drive up on their motorcycles with their guns.”
Trump fuelled such concerns at the debate when he failed to denounce white supremacists, telling the rightwing Proud Boys group to “stand back and stand by”.
Katie Hill, a former Democratic congresswoman from California, said: “I certainly worry that the purpose of this is to stir up trouble and to scare people away from the polls because of a very real fear of the white supremacists that are enabled and encouraged by Trump and his rhetoric.
“He just gave a call to action for the Proud Boys that are a known white supremacist group, that are known to carry weapons, that are known to be violent. If people are hearing that the Proud Boys are going to show up at the polls, some people are going to be afraid and that’s exactly what they want to have happen. They want them to not vote.”
The RNC insists that its poll watchers will be trained and abide by state laws. But Democrats have hired voter protection directors in 19 states and plan to mobilise thousands of volunteers and lawyers on election day.
Meanwhile demand for early and mail-in voting has risen sharply this year as people look for a way to cast their ballots without risk of infection by the coronavirus. Nearly 1.6 million Americans have already voted, according to the US Elections Project at the University of Florida.
Early voters wait in line to cast their ballots in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on 2 October. Photograph: Dominick Sokotoff/REX/Shutterstock
But Trump openly admitted to withholding funding from the postal service as a way to curb mail-in voting, citing baseless allegations of fraud. Republicans are also waging court battles to purge voters from registration rolls and, even when the votes are in, Trump has political and legal tools at his disposal.
This week Republicans in Pennsylvania’s state house of representatives drew up a bill that would create a committee with the power “to investigate, review and make recommendations concerning the regulation and conduct of the 2020 election”.
The committee would be made up of five members, including three from the Republican majority in the House. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democratic state congressman, warned a committee: “This bill is a fraud. Democracies die slowly, and I think this bill would be a fatal blow to our democracy.”
In addition, the Atlantic magazine reported last month that the Trump campaign has been discussing “contingency plans” with Republicans who control state legislatures in battleground states to override inconvenient results by appointing loyal “electors” to the all-important electoral college.
Such moves could run into challenges from lawyers and Democratic governors and prove a dramatic stress test for America’s system of checks and balances.
Tara Setmayer, a political analyst and former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, said: “I think that there are still Republicans out there who are in positions like this that recognise the gravity of messing around with election integrity. In the states where we have to worry about that, I’m confident that the Biden campaign and the Democrats have identified who those potential problem officials would be.
“They are stocking up on election lawyer experts to challenge if any shenanigans take place. They are fully prepared and that’s where the courts, which are for the most part apolitical, and the judicial system come in, and may have to referee in places where shenanigans are pulled.”
Some analysts remain cautiously optimistic that the 2020 election will still be decided by the voters rather than by vigilantes, lawyers or state politicians. Myrna Pérez, director of the Brennan Center’s voting rights and elections programme, said: “We need to take these threats very seriously but I also think we need to remember there are lots of protections and lots more Americans that want free, fair and accessible elections than want to intimidate and discriminate against voters.”
She added: “We can’t let those folks win. We can’t let the intimidators and the discriminators deter the rest of us from exercising our fundamental right to vote. We need be prepared. We need to be ready. We need to do what we can to prevent it. We need to know what to do in case it happens. But the number one thing we need to do is make sure we still go out and vote.”


theguardian--2020-10-05--Donald Trump and Covid: what we know so far

Trump made an impromptu appearance outside of the hospital on Sunday afternoon , waving from inside an SUV to a crowd of supporters who gathered outside the hospital .
Concerns were raised about the other people who were in the car with Trump , who was wearing a mask .
The White House ’ s medical team said Donald Trump “ has continued to improve ” since Saturday and could be released as early as Monday .
The team confirmed the president had lowered oxygen levels at one point and refused to answer questions about whether the president has suffered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Walter Reed Medical Center condemned Trump ’ s drive , calling it “ insanity ” .
Dr James Phillips , a full-time emergency medical physician at Walter Reed , wrote on Twitter : “ 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.
” In a second tweet Phillips said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
• None NBC reported that Melania Trump would not leave her residence to visit her husband because it would put agents and staff at risk .
A White House official told NBC that Melania would not leave the White House because “ That would expose the agents who would drive her there and the medical staff who would walk her up to him.
” • None A Reuters/Ipsos poll indicated a majority – 65 % – of Americans believe Trump would not have been infected with the virus if he took it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the widest lead in a month for Joe Biden over Trump .
The poll , taken on Friday and Saturday , showed Biden with a 10-point lead .
• None Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 .
Biden ’ s second test since it became public that Donald Trump had contracted Covid-19 was negative .
Biden ’ s campaign said on Sunday night it would release the result of every Covid-19 test the candidate takes in future .
• None The Wall Street Journal reports Trump had a positive Covid-19 rapid test on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump told Fox News that night that he was waiting for test results and then tweeted later that night that he had the virus .
• None State health officials in New Jersey have contacted more than 200 people who attended a campaign fundraiser at the Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster on Thursday , hours before the president announced he had Covid-19 , as they try to contain the spread of the deadly virus .
Somerset County officials are meanwhile contacting employees who worked the event , most of whom live in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refuses to release number of officials with Covid-19 .
Kayleigh McEnany , White House press secretary , refused to commit to releasing to the public how many White House officials have tested positive for Covid-19 when questioned by reporters at a press briefing .
• None A report from the Washington Post said Sean Conley , the White House physician , told co-workers in the spring that he was feeling intense personal stress in his current job – before the president contracted Covid-19 .
Conley , a 40-year-old Navy commander , joined the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after serving as a Navy emergency physician and serving in a trauma unit in Afghanistan .
The Post reports that those who have worked with Conley believe that the public statements he has given appear to be dictated by politics .
“ Every statement he is giving appears to be political , dictated by the White House or the president , ” one anonymous source who has worked with Conley told the Post .
• None The White House sent its first all-staff email since Trump ’ s diagnosis .
The White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time since Trump ’ s diagnosis sent an all-staff email advising staffers on whether to come to work or stay home .
• None White House releases photo of Trump on conference call with chief of staff present in room .
The White House has released a photograph of Trump inside Walter Reed , allegedly participating in a conference call with the vice president , secretary of state and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff .
The caption also indicated that White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was physically present in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that individuals who have Covid-19 should “ stay home and away from other people.
” • None Mary Trump has said the US is “ in the horrible place we ’ re in ” because members of the family , including the president , see illness as “ a display of unforgivable weakness ” , whether it is in themselves or others .
Speaking on NPR ’ s Fresh Air , Mary Trump , who recently published the tell-all book Too Much and Never Enough : How My Family Created the World ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ That ’ s why we ’ re in the horrible place we ’ re in , because he can not admit to the weakness of being ill or of other people being ill .
”

Trump made an impromptu appearance outside of the hospital on Sunday afternoon, waving from inside an SUV to a crowd of supporters who gathered outside the hospital. Concerns were raised about the other people who were in the car with Trump, who was wearing a mask.
The White House’s medical team said Donald Trump “has continued to improve” since Saturday and could be released as early as Monday. The team confirmed the president had lowered oxygen levels at one point and refused to answer questions about whether the president has suffered lung damage.
An attending physician at Walter Reed Medical Center condemned Trump’s drive, calling it “insanity”. Dr James Phillips, a full-time emergency medical physician at Walter Reed, wrote on Twitter: “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.” In a second tweet Phillips said, “the irresponsibility is astounding”.
Trump has no public events listed for Monday on White House schedule. Trump’s schedule for Monday 5 October says: “The President has no public events scheduled.”
NBC reported that Melania Trump would not leave her residence to visit her husband because it would put agents and staff at risk. A White House official told NBC that Melania would not leave the White House because “That would expose the agents who would drive her there and the medical staff who would walk her up to him.”
A Reuters/Ipsos poll indicated a majority – 65% – of Americans believe Trump would not have been infected with the virus if he took it more seriously. A separate poll showed the widest lead in a month for Joe Biden over Trump. The poll, taken on Friday and Saturday, showed Biden with a 10-point lead.
Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19. Biden’s second test since it became public that Donald Trump had contracted Covid-19 was negative. Biden’s campaign said on Sunday night it would release the result of every Covid-19 test the candidate takes in future.
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump had a positive Covid-19 rapid test on Thursday and did not disclose it. Trump told Fox News that night that he was waiting for test results and then tweeted later that night that he had the virus.
State health officials in New Jersey have contacted more than 200 people who attended a campaign fundraiser at the Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster on Thursday, hours before the president announced he had Covid-19, as they try to contain the spread of the deadly virus. Somerset County officials are meanwhile contacting employees who worked the event, most of whom live in the county.
White House refuses to release number of officials with Covid-19. Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary, refused to commit to releasing to the public how many White House officials have tested positive for Covid-19 when questioned by reporters at a press briefing.
A report from the Washington Post said Sean Conley, the White House physician, told co-workers in the spring that he was feeling intense personal stress in his current job – before the president contracted Covid-19. Conley, a 40-year-old Navy commander, joined the White House medical staff in December 2016 after serving as a Navy emergency physician and serving in a trauma unit in Afghanistan. The Post reports that those who have worked with Conley believe that the public statements he has given appear to be dictated by politics. “Every statement he is giving appears to be political, dictated by the White House or the president,” one anonymous source who has worked with Conley told the Post.
The White House sent its first all-staff email since Trump’s diagnosis. The White House management office on Sunday for the first time since Trump’s diagnosis sent an all-staff email advising staffers on whether to come to work or stay home.
White House releases photo of Trump on conference call with chief of staff present in room. The White House has released a photograph of Trump inside Walter Reed, allegedly participating in a conference call with the vice president, secretary of state and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The caption also indicated that White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was physically present in the room, despite CDC guidelines stating that individuals who have Covid-19 should “stay home and away from other people.”


theguardian--2020-10-05--Getting Covid is the most democratic thing Trump has ever done | First Dog on the Moon

Nobody is laughing , certainly not the dead • Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons @ @ @ @ @ your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog @ @ @

This article is more than 2 years old
Getting Covid is the most democratic thing Trump has ever done
This article is more than 2 years old


theguardian--2020-10-04--Panic and confusion permeate White House after Trump's Covid diagnosis

Golden autumn sunshine shone down on Washington on Saturday to illuminate a US capital upended as Donald Trump began his first full day in hospital battling coronavirus amid a presidential election thrown into chaos .
Just hours earlier , on Friday evening after an excruciating wait for news , the president had emerged from the White House with a lacklustre wave and thumbs up , but ignoring reporters ’ shouted questions about the state of his health .
Trump stalked slowly across the south lawn and boarded the US presidential helicopter .
The only visual clue that something profound had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was wearing a mask .
As Marine One lifted into the sky just before sunset , the president left behind a White House staff suddenly rudderless , fearful and unsure how the story will end .
The reality TV star turned president has delivered his greatest moment of suspense and the presidential election with its first “ October surprise ” but maybe not its last .
Trump , 74 , is spending the weekend at a military hospital near Washington after discovering that not even the commander in chief of the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the coronavirus .
Said to be feverish and fatigued , there is huge uncertainty over his condition , its potential to deteriorate and whether he might become incapacitated .
In his absence , the mood in the White House was said to be one of panic , with growing concern over the extent of the spread of the virus within the building and whether it could disrupt the functioning of government .
Staff have taken their lead from Trump ’ s bubble of denial for months , eschewing face masks and congregating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spaces and narrow hallways .
The president ’ s positive test was chilling proof of what the rest of the country has long known : no one is safe .
“ People are losing their minds , ” one source told the Washington Post newspaper .
As Friday wore on and Trump ’ s condition worsened , staff were also forced to confront the possibility that his health could be at serious risk .
An information vacuum filled with rumour and speculation and did little to calm nerves , with media outlets forced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or presidential tweets such as : “ Going welI , I think !
Thank you to all .
LOVE !
!
!
” The heavily guarded White House is one of the world ’ s most secure properties with a new 13ft tall fence to keep out intruders , protesters and terrorists .
Yet it too was breached by the invisible pathogen that has killed more than 205,000 Americans .
Commentators said there could be no greater proof of the administration ’ s failure to combat the pandemic .
How , when or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mystery .
But the myth of invulnerability may have been finally shattered by an event in the White House Rose Garden last Saturday in which he nominated judge Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court .
More than 150 guests sat close together without face masks , apparently lulled into thinking it was safe to do so in the open air .
But at least seven attendees – Trump , the first lady Melania Trump , former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway , ex-New Jersey governor Chris Christie , Senators Mike Lee and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dame president , John Jenkins – have all since tested positive for the virus .
On Saturday morning it emerged that the Trump re-election campaign manager , Bill Stepien , had also tested positive , fueling more chaos into the election .
Deputy campaign manager Justin Clark is set to run the Trump campaign headquarters in Stepien ’ s absence .
After last Saturday ’ s Rose Garden celebration , an event which continued with receptions indoors at the White House , Trump spent a whirlwind week campaigning for the 3 November presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chaotic and dismal debate with rival Joe Biden in Cleveland , Ohio , where many of his entourage sat unmasked in contrast to the Democrat ’ s team , who strictly followed the protocols .
On Thursday , Trump attended a political fundraiser at his golf club in Bedminister , New Jersey , even though he was aware he had been exposed to the infected Hicks .
That night , sounding unconcerned , he gave an interview to Sean Hannity of Fox News , apparently blaming the military or law enforcement for violating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hug you and kiss you because we really have done a good job for them .
You get close , and things happen.
” Trump ’ s revelation that he was positive came in perhaps the most momentous tweet of his entire presidency just before 1am on Friday .
At last , critics said , a man notorious for dealing in disinformation and fantasies had to face a cold scientific truth he could not wish , insult or tweet away .
He also referred to it in the tweet correctly as Covid-19 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public remarks variously as “ the China virus ” , the plague and “ kung flu ” .
Later that morning , the White House tried to project an air of business-as-usual .
Officials Mark Meadows , Larry Kudlow and Kayleigh McEnany all sought to assure reporters that Trump was in good spirits and had only mild symptoms .
Yet by the afternoon , there was evidence of growing gap between spin and reality .
It was announced that Trump had been injected with an experimental drug combination and , “ out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be flown to hospital .
The otherwise routine Marine One journey gave many in Washington a sense of witnessing history unfold before their eyes .
Howard Fineman , a journalist , tweeted : “ I ’ ve seen and heard many indelible moments here in DC over the years , but nothing like Marine One flying over our neighborhood bound for Walter Reed , bearing a president struck , like millions of others , by global pandemic .
Unsettling , scary .
Politics is stilled for just a moment.
” Officials said Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Walter Reed national military medical center is precautionary and that he will continue to work from the hospital ’ s presidential suite , which is equipped to allow him to keep up his official duties .
But a series of conflicting and contradictory messages sowed doubts in the public mind .
A press conference by the medical team on Saturday painted a rosy picture but dodged key questions about whether Trump had received supplementary oxygen and gave a confusing timeline that later had to be corrected .
The president released a video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insisting : “ I feel much better.
” Later his chief of staff , Mark Meadows , told Fox News : “ He ’ s made unbelievable improvements from yesterday morning , when I know a number of us , the doctor and I , were very concerned … He had a fever and a blood oxygen level that dropped rapidly.
” Yet on the morning he referred to , Meadows had told reporters that Trump had “ mild symptoms ” and was “ very energetic ” .
His hospitalisation represents the gravest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s health since 1981 when Ronald Reagan survived a would-be assassin ’ s bullet outside a Washington hotel and received emergency medical attention .
Trump ’ s age , sex , obesity and elevated cholesterol put him at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide .
If he declines sharply and is unable to carry out his responsibilities , he could transfer power to the vice-president , Mike Pence , under the 25th amendment to the constitution .
Pence tested negative for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a research fellow at the Hoover Institution thinktank at Stanford University in Palo Alto , California , said : “ The dominoes are multiple .
There ’ s the question of his ability to campaign in person moving ahead .
There ’ s the question of his ability to have the office right now : the 25th amendment .
I ’ ve talked to some of my conservative friends who think he should be invoking this right now .
“ I hate to speculate like this , but what if his health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where either he was unconscious or just delirious ?
Then the vice-president , the cabinet , would have to step in and do this , so there ’ s actually a school of thought that he should invoke it proactively.
” The US government has a long history of opacity when it comes to presidents ’ health and the Trump White House , in particular , suffers from a trust deficit .
Kurt Bardella , a senior adviser to the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project , said : “ What we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything that comes from the White House .
These are the same people who have been lying about everybody else ’ s health terms of the impact of Covid-19 , so why would we expect any differently when they ’ re talking about themselves ?
” Dan Rather , a veteran journalist who reported on Richard Nixon ’ s downfall in 1974 , added on Twitter : “ What we don ’ t know is a lot more than what we do know .
And we have an administration that long ago squandered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis should keep these truths in mind for context.
” His next debate with Biden , scheduled for 15 October , is in doubt .
As well as Stepien testing positive for Covid-19 , so has key ally Ronna McDaniel , the head of the Republican National Committee , and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie , who helped coach Trump for the first debate with Biden .
Despite Trump ’ s attempts to change the conversation , for example with Barrett ’ s court nomination , the pandemic remains the defining issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Republican pollster , told the Associated Press : “ It ’ s challenging .
It would be better if the discussion was about jobs and the economy , or even Joe Biden is going to ‘ be held captive to the left ’ .
But the election is going to be about coronavirus , and that ’ s not favourable terrain for Republicans .
”

Golden autumn sunshine shone down on Washington on Saturday to illuminate a US capital upended as Donald Trump began his first full day in hospital battling coronavirus amid a presidential election thrown into chaos.
Just hours earlier, on Friday evening after an excruciating wait for news, the president had emerged from the White House with a lacklustre wave and thumbs up, but ignoring reporters’ shouted questions about the state of his health.
Trump stalked slowly across the south lawn and boarded the US presidential helicopter. The only visual clue that something profound had changed was Trump’s face: he was wearing a mask.
As Marine One lifted into the sky just before sunset, the president left behind a White House staff suddenly rudderless, fearful and unsure how the story will end. The reality TV star turned president has delivered his greatest moment of suspense and the presidential election with its first “October surprise” but maybe not its last.
Trump, 74, is spending the weekend at a military hospital near Washington after discovering that not even the commander in chief of the world’s most powerful country is immune to the coronavirus. Said to be feverish and fatigued, there is huge uncertainty over his condition, its potential to deteriorate and whether he might become incapacitated.
In his absence, the mood in the White House was said to be one of panic, with growing concern over the extent of the spread of the virus within the building and whether it could disrupt the functioning of government.
00:53 Trump films message before leaving for Covid treatment in hospital – video
Staff have taken their lead from Trump’s bubble of denial for months, eschewing face masks and congregating in the west wing’s cramped spaces and narrow hallways. The president’s positive test was chilling proof of what the rest of the country has long known: no one is safe.
“People are losing their minds,” one source told the Washington Post newspaper.
As Friday wore on and Trump’s condition worsened, staff were also forced to confront the possibility that his health could be at serious risk. An information vacuum filled with rumour and speculation and did little to calm nerves, with media outlets forced to depend on leaks from anonymous officials or presidential tweets such as: “Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!”
The heavily guarded White House is one of the world’s most secure properties with a new 13ft tall fence to keep out intruders, protesters and terrorists. Yet it too was breached by the invisible pathogen that has killed more than 205,000 Americans. Commentators said there could be no greater proof of the administration’s failure to combat the pandemic.
How, when or from whom Trump became infected remains a mystery. But the myth of invulnerability may have been finally shattered by an event in the White House Rose Garden last Saturday in which he nominated judge Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court. More than 150 guests sat close together without face masks, apparently lulled into thinking it was safe to do so in the open air.
But at least seven attendees – Trump, the first lady Melania Trump, former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, ex-New Jersey governor Chris Christie, Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis and the University of Notre Dame president, John Jenkins – have all since tested positive for the virus.
On Saturday morning it emerged that the Trump re-election campaign manager, Bill Stepien, had also tested positive, fueling more chaos into the election. Deputy campaign manager Justin Clark is set to run the Trump campaign headquarters in Stepien’s absence.
After last Saturday’s Rose Garden celebration, an event which continued with receptions indoors at the White House, Trump spent a whirlwind week campaigning for the 3 November presidential election.
On Tuesday there was a chaotic and dismal debate with rival Joe Biden in Cleveland, Ohio, where many of his entourage sat unmasked in contrast to the Democrat’s team, who strictly followed the protocols.
On Thursday, Trump attended a political fundraiser at his golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey, even though he was aware he had been exposed to the infected Hicks. That night, sounding unconcerned, he gave an interview to Sean Hannity of Fox News, apparently blaming the military or law enforcement for violating physical distancing: “They want to hug you and kiss you because we really have done a good job for them. You get close, and things happen.”
Trump’s revelation that he was positive came in perhaps the most momentous tweet of his entire presidency just before 1am on Friday. At last, critics said, a man notorious for dealing in disinformation and fantasies had to face a cold scientific truth he could not wish, insult or tweet away.
He also referred to it in the tweet correctly as Covid-19, having previously referred to the disease in public remarks variously as “the China virus”, the plague and “kung flu”.
Later that morning, the White House tried to project an air of business-as-usual. Officials Mark Meadows, Larry Kudlow and Kayleigh McEnany all sought to assure reporters that Trump was in good spirits and had only mild symptoms.
Yet by the afternoon, there was evidence of growing gap between spin and reality. It was announced that Trump had been injected with an experimental drug combination and, “out of an abundance of caution”, would be flown to hospital. The otherwise routine Marine One journey gave many in Washington a sense of witnessing history unfold before their eyes.
Howard Fineman, a journalist, tweeted: “I’ve seen and heard many indelible moments here in DC over the years, but nothing like Marine One flying over our neighborhood bound for Walter Reed, bearing a president struck, like millions of others, by global pandemic. Unsettling, scary. Politics is stilled for just a moment.”
Officials said Trump’s stay of a few days at Walter Reed national military medical center is precautionary and that he will continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to keep up his official duties.
But a series of conflicting and contradictory messages sowed doubts in the public mind. A press conference by the medical team on Saturday painted a rosy picture but dodged key questions about whether Trump had received supplementary oxygen and gave a confusing timeline that later had to be corrected.
The president released a video on Saturday night, looking worn but insisting: “I feel much better.” Later his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, told Fox News: “He’s made unbelievable improvements from yesterday morning, when I know a number of us, the doctor and I, were very concerned … He had a fever and a blood oxygen level that dropped rapidly.”
Yet on the morning he referred to, Meadows had told reporters that Trump had “mild symptoms” and was “very energetic”.
His hospitalisation represents the gravest threat to an incumbent US president’s health since 1981 when Ronald Reagan survived a would-be assassin’s bullet outside a Washington hotel and received emergency medical attention.
Doctors outside Walter Reed medical center on Saturday. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP
Trump’s age, sex, obesity and elevated cholesterol put him at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide. If he declines sharply and is unable to carry out his responsibilities, he could transfer power to the vice-president, Mike Pence, under the 25th amendment to the constitution. Pence tested negative for the virus on Friday.
Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution thinktank at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, said: “The dominoes are multiple. There’s the question of his ability to campaign in person moving ahead. There’s the question of his ability to have the office right now: the 25th amendment. I’ve talked to some of my conservative friends who think he should be invoking this right now.
“I hate to speculate like this, but what if his health did deteriorate rather fast to the point where either he was unconscious or just delirious? Then the vice-president, the cabinet, would have to step in and do this, so there’s actually a school of thought that he should invoke it proactively.”
The US government has a long history of opacity when it comes to presidents’ health and the Trump White House, in particular, suffers from a trust deficit.
Kurt Bardella, a senior adviser to the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project, said: “What we’re seeing is a very healthy scepticism about anything that comes from the White House. These are the same people who have been lying about everybody else’s health terms of the impact of Covid-19, so why would we expect any differently when they’re talking about themselves?”
Dan Rather, a veteran journalist who reported on Richard Nixon’s downfall in 1974, added on Twitter: “What we don’t know is a lot more than what we do know. And we have an administration that long ago squandered its credibility. All coverage of this crisis should keep these truths in mind for context.”
His next debate with Biden, scheduled for 15 October, is in doubt. As well as Stepien testing positive for Covid-19, so has key ally Ronna McDaniel, the head of the Republican National Committee, and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who helped coach Trump for the first debate with Biden. Despite Trump’s attempts to change the conversation, for example with Barrett’s court nomination, the pandemic remains the defining issue at the ballot box.
Glen Bolger, a Republican pollster, told the Associated Press: “It’s challenging. It would be better if the discussion was about jobs and the economy, or even Joe Biden is going to ‘be held captive to the left’. But the election is going to be about coronavirus, and that’s not favourable terrain for Republicans.”


theguardian--2020-10-06--US election 2020: how Covid-19 reached the White House – podcast

Donald Trump spent the weekend in hospital after developing symptoms following a positive test for coronavirus .
But with confusing @ @ @ @ @ drive-by stunt , Americans are still trying to get answers as to how Trump became @ @ @ @ @ The shock news that Donald Trump had tested positive for Covid-19 last week was followed @ @ @ @ @ development : he was being admitted to hospital “ out of an abundance of caution @ @ @ @ @ s Washington bureau chief , David Smith , tells Anushka Asthana that questions still remain @ @ @ @ @ president ’ s illness despite briefings from his medical team .
There are also worries @ @ @ @ @ his staff could have been exposed to the virus despite extensive testing in the White @ @ @ @ @ only a month until election day , Trump faces a period of recovery that will @ @ @ @ @ trail .

Presented by Anushka Asthana with David Smith; produced by Mythili Rao, Hannah Moore and Axel Kacoutié; executive producers Phil Maynard and Nicole Jackson

Donald Trump spent the weekend in hospital after developing symptoms following a positive test for coronavirus. But with confusing medical briefings and a controversial drive-by stunt, Americans are still trying to get answers as to how Trump became infected as the election approaches
The shock news that Donald Trump had tested positive for Covid-19 last week was followed by an even more dramatic development: he was being admitted to hospital “out of an abundance of caution”.
The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, tells Anushka Asthana that questions still remain about the extent of the president’s illness despite briefings from his medical team. There are also worries about how the president and his staff could have been exposed to the virus despite extensive testing in the White House.
Meanwhile, with only a month until election day, Trump faces a period of recovery that will could him off the campaign trail.
Archive: Washington Post; The Guardian; Fox; MSNBC; Sky News; BBC News; CNN; The Hill; Politico, Twitter


theguardian--2020-10-06--Donald Trump says 'don't be afraid' of Covid after he removes mask at White House  – live

Donald Trump has published a startlingly incoherent and dangerous video message on Twitter , in which he again encouraged Americans not to take the coronavirus seriously .
The approximately 90-second clip appears to have been recorded soon after Trump returned to the White House and removed his mask , potentially exposing the White House staff to his active coronavirus infection .
Trump began by thanking the staff at Walter Reed Medical Center , before repeating a line he tweeted earlier today about the virus that has thus far killed more than 1 million people worldwide : More than 210,000 Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which there is no known cure .
Trump has been treated with experimental drugs that are not available to the general public , and has received round-the-clock care from a dedicated medical staff .
Approximately 28 million people in the US lack health insurance .
Trump then began to speak about his own health , saying : Trump and his medical team have not been transparent about his condition .
On Sunday , his doctor admitted that Trump had twice required supplemental oxygen , but it is unclear exactly when .
Trump is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is normally only prescribed to Covid patients with severe cases .
Don ’ t let it dominate .
Don ’ t let it take over your lives .
Don ’ t let that happen .
We have the greatest country in the world .
We ’ re going back .
We ’ re going back to work .
We ’ re going to be out front .
As your leader I had to do that .
I knew there was danger to it but I had to do it .
I stood out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a leader would not do what I did .
And I know there ’ s a danger , but that ’ s okay .
It is very hard to understand what Trump is saying in this section of the video , or what he means by “ I had to do that ” .
It is certainly not the case that as president Trump was required to defy basic public health guidelines , such as wearing a face mask and eschewing large crowds or indoor events .
The vast majority of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continued to lead their countries without taking unnecessary risks that expose both themselves and their staffs to a potentially deadly disease .
According to his own doctor , Trump is not “ better ” yet .
He is still symptomatic with Covid-19 and , crucially , still infectious .
While those who recover from Covid-19 will likely have immunity from reinfection , Trump has not yet recovered .
According to CDC guidelines , he should be in isolation .
Again , while Trump has received experimental medicines and state-of-the-art care , there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that a safe and effective vaccine will be released “ momentarily ” .
If you are reading this , do not follow Trump ’ s advice .
If you need to leave your home , wear a mask , wash your hands , and maintain social distance .

Helen Sullivan (now), Julia Carrie Wong ,Lauren Gambino and Martin Belam (earlier)

6 Oct 2020 06.58 BST Summary Helen Sullivan That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. Thanks for following along – and as always, to those who got in touch on Twitter or via email. We’re pausing this blog for a moment, but our global Covid blog is still going strong here. For those just joining us, below is a recap of the last few hours: Donald Trump left Walter Reed hospital, where he was being treated for coronavirus, on Monday evening. He wore a mask while leaving the hospital and again as he walked from Marine One to the White House. He then removed his mask to pose for photographs, while standing near photographers. Trump still has coronavirus, is still contagious, and according to CDC guidelines, should remain in isolation until at least 10 days after his diagnosis, which came in the early hours of Friday. Trump’s personal physician, Sean Conley, said the president met the discharge requirements but was “not entirely be out of the woods yet”. He said Trump would take another dose of remdesivir before leaving the hospital, his fourth. Conley repeatedly refused to say when Trump’s last negative test was, which would have implications for contact tracing and provide more context to the timeline of when the president knew he had Covid. It also raised questions about whether Trump was being tested for coronavirus every day, which the White House said it would do. “I don’t want to go backwards,” Conley said. Trump tweeted a video in which he said of the virus, “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it.” Coronavirus has already killed 210,117 Americans – or one in every 1,560 people in the country. He also said: “The vaccines are coming momentarily,” just as the New York Times published a report saying senior White House officials are blocking guidelines designed to make sure the vaccine is safe – but which mean it it is unlikely to be approved before the election. Shortly after Trump’s maskless moment at the White House, Joe Biden held a town hall in which he repeatedly stressed the importance of masks to protect others. He also tweeted several times about this. “I would hope that the president having gone through what he went through will communicate the right lesson to the American people: Masks matter. They save lives,” Biden said. Trump plans to participate in next debate, a spokesman for the president’s campaign said. The debate is due to be held on 15 October. On Thursday last week, before Trump announced that he had tested positive, his re-election campaign rejected calls to change the rules of the next two presidential debates after the first chaotic event in Cleveland was marred by constant interruptions and outbursts. The debate’s host, Chris Wallace, has since said that Trump also did not wear a mask while on a walk-through before the debate, and that “there was an honour system” when it came to testing negative. Trump’s name was on a list of people who had tested negative before last Tuesday’s presidential debate, the Cleveland Clinic said on Monday, but added that it had not reviewed the results. “The submitted names, including that of the president and former vice president Joe Biden, were reviewed by the Cleveland Clinic. However, the clinic did not have to review actual test findings or see proof of negative results,” the clinic spokesperson told CNN. “She also said the date of the test was not required.” Anthony Fauci warned on CNN that Trump could experience a “reversal” in his progress. The top US infectious diseases expert and White House Coronavirus Task Force member said: “The issue is that he’s still early enough in the disease that it’s no secret that if you look at the clinical course of people sometimes, when you’re five to eight days in, you can have a reversal.” The president’s schedule for Tuesday remains clear. The White House published Trump’s daily guidance and schedule events for Tuesday, which lists no public events, though this isn’t an indication that Trump won’t make an appearance. Sunday’s drive past fans outside Walter Reed and Trump’s departure from Walter Reed on Monday were not listed on his schedules. When vice president Mike Pence and California Senator Kamala Harris debate on Wednesday, they will do so separated by plexiglass shields. Frank J Fahrenkopf Jr, chairman of the debate commission, said: “The Trump campaign agreed to that so long as we don’t surround Vice President Pence all the way around. He doesn’t want to be in a box.” Trump’s top spokesperson, Kayleigh McEnany, announced she had tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, in yet another escalation of an outbreak that has thrown the White House into disarray. Donald Trump Jr was worried by his father’s behaviour and had sought help from his siblings in “staging an intervention”, Vanity Fair magazine reported citing two anonymous Republican sources. Trump Jr has denied the report. The White House will not perform contact tracing for attendees of the Rose Garden event celebrating the supreme court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, despite the confirmed infections of at least 11 attendees, according to a new report by the New York Times. The Rose Garden ceremony for Barrett has drawn scrutiny as a potential “super-spreader” event. Trump and Covid: what we know so far Read more
Updated at 07.05 BST
6 Oct 2020 06.53 BST Legal scholar Richard L Hasen has written an analysis piece for CNN in which he argues that states must pass laws now in preparation for the possibility that either Trump or Biden is incapacitated or killed by the virus before the Electoral College votes are counted on 6 January next year. Hasen is the Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science at UC Irvine School of Law. With coronavirus infections raging through the White House and the state of the President’s health unclear, it’s time to face up to an unsettling reality. We need to start thinking about what to do if the disease incapacitates or kills President Donald Trump or his opponent, Joe Biden – or even both of them – between now and January 6, 2021, when Congress meets to count Electoral College votes. These scenarios may be unlikely, but they need to be considered because being unprepared for any of them would be a calamity for our democracy. There is one thing each state can do now to minimize the risk: pass a law providing that voters’ votes for a deceased or incapacitated presidential candidate count toward a replacement chosen by that candidate’s party, and that state’s electoral college votes for the deceased or incapacitated candidate also go to the party replacement.
Updated at 07.06 BST
6 Oct 2020 06.48 BST Josephine Tovey Finding the news from the US presidential election overwhelming to follow from afar?
I’m writing a news briefing each day for Guardian readers in Australia, pulling together the biggest US news of the day and essential Guardian analysis, videos and podcasts, all explained and presented from an Australian viewpoint. You can sign up to receive the daily briefing note here.
Updated at 07.06 BST
6 Oct 2020 06.36 BST The push to put conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the high court before 3 November is like nothing seen in US history so close to a presidential election. A promotional video released by the Senate Republicans shows several shots – including many of people not wearing masks – from the White House event announcing Donald Trump’s nomination Barrett. A number of people who attended have since tested positive. Amy Coney Barrett would make history as the FIRST mother of school-aged children EVER to serve on the United States Supreme Court.
Let's shatter glass ceilings.
Let’s make history.
#ConfirmACB 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/af3axaSo42 — Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) October 5, 2020 Three GOP senators, including Johnson, have tested positive for the virus and several more are quarantined at home, denying Republicans a functioning majority.
Senator Lindsey Graham, chair of the Judiciary Committee, said after talking by phone Monday with Trump that the president is very excited” about Barrett being confirmed to the Supreme Court.
The rush to confirm Trump’s third court nominee is as much about securing a conservative court for a generation to come as it is about giving Republicans what they see as their best chances at reelection. With Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden in polls and their own Senate majority at risk, Republicans hope a Supreme Court vote in the week before Election Day will save their jobs.
Updated at 06.52 BST
6 Oct 2020 06.31 BST Shuttered by Covid-19 infections, the Republican-led Senate is refusing to delay confirmation of President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court. They are even willing to make special arrangements so sick senators can vote for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and Democrats appear powerless to stop them. AP reports that Republican Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson said Monday that he’ll go to the Capitol “in a moon suit” to vote if he’s still testing positive for the coronavirus, which has killed more than 209,000 Americans and infected millions. NEW: Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson says he'll vote to confirm SCOTUS nominee Amy Coney Barrett even if he's still testing positive.
"If we have to go in and vote, I've already told leadership I’ll go in a moon suit," Johnson says on talk radio.https://t.co/ObHiW5eLkb — Theo Keith (@TheoKeith) October 5, 2020
Updated at 06.32 BST
6 Oct 2020 06.26 BST Some more reaction now to Trump saying of the virus, “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it.” “I was aghast when he said Covid should not be feared,” William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville told AP.
“This is a disease that is killing around a thousand people a day, has torpedoed the economy, put people out of work. This is a virus that should be both respected and feared,” he added.
Democrats also weighed in. “This is a tragic failure of leadership,” Democratic Senator Chris Coons tweeted: This is a tragic failure of leadership. https://t.co/gw18Wllxhj — Senator Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) October 6, 2020
6 Oct 2020 06.20 BST Even Biden’s former primary rival, Bernie Sanders, has resumed in-person campaigning for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in March. The progressive Vermont senator held socially distanced rallies in the battlegrounds of New Hampshire and Michigan, proclaiming, We need Joe Biden as our president. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks to the crowd at a car rally campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday, 5 October 2020, in Warren, Michigan. Photograph: Nicole Hester/AP
6 Oct 2020 06.15 BST Joe Biden, meanwhile, is capitalizing on having the campaign trail largely to himself by hitting critical swing states and investing in longtime Republican bastions that he hopes might expand his path to victory, AP reports.
The Democratic presidential nominee made his second trip to Florida in a little over two weeks on Monday. His visit to Miami was designed to encroach on some of Trump’s turf, even swinging through Little Havana, a typically conservative area known for its staunch opposition to the communist government that Fidel Castro installed in Cuba.
He’ll follow up with a trip later this week to Arizona, which hasn’t backed a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996. Democratic US presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop at Little Haiti Cultural Complex in Miami, Florida, US, 5 October 2020. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters Sitting on a massive pile of campaign cash less than a month before Election Day, Biden is trying to put Trump on defence across the country and build an advantage in the Electoral College so large that the president might struggle to contest it. That’s especially important since Trump, who lost the popular vote in 2016, has said he may not accept the election results this year and has raised unfounded allegations that the increased use of mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic could lead to fraud. Dr. Jill Biden attends a ‘Women for Biden’ drive-in rally at Century Village in Boca Raton on 5 October 2020 in Boca Raton, Florida. Photograph: Johnny Louis/Getty Images
Updated at 06.22 BST
6 Oct 2020 06.11 BST Vice President Mike Pence took the lead role in campaigning on Monday, starting a swing through key states to bolster the president’s chance for reelection.
“When the president told me that he was headed back to the White House, he told me to head to Utah,” said Pence. “And we’re looking very much forward to the vice presidential debate,” he said. US Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen arrive ahead of the vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 5 October 2020. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters From AP: The spotlight on Pence will be especially bright Wednesday when he participates in the vice presidential debate with California Senator Kamala Harris.
Pence will almost certainly be pressed to explain shifting accounts of the president’s health over the weekend and justify Trump’s decision to hold large in-person campaign rallies during a pandemic events that often flouted public health guidelines by congregating thousands of mostly mask-less supporters.
“Normally, the vice presidential debate is inconsequential. That is not the case in 2020,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked on Florida Sen. Marco Rubios 2016 presidential bid. “The public has so many questions about how we got here and it’s an opportunity for Pence to answer some of those.”
Updated at 06.17 BST
6 Oct 2020 05.40 BST The Atlantic has published a story looking at the White House employees who have been put at risk by Trump’s approach to the virus as well as by his decision to leave Walter Reed hospital – and to remove his mask after doing so. Elaine Godfrey writes: Asked to describe the mood inside the White House, one staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he fears for his job, called the fallout from the Trumps’ diagnosis ‘a huge mess.’ He found out about the president’s and first lady’s illness through news reports. ‘That happens all the time in this administration,’ he said. ... Of all the employees working on the White House grounds, perhaps no one has more exposure to the first family than the roughly 100 members of the residence staff. Trump and the first lady (not to mention Trump’s political advisers) have rarely worn masks, and each time the president has held a rally or speech outside the White House, he’s created opportunities for the virus to migrate inside the executive mansion. (That’s especially true if the president’s personal testing regime has not been as stringent as the administration has led the public to believe.) While it’s unclear whether residence staffers’ duties have changed during the pandemic, a handful of them usually work quite intimately with the president and first lady, namely the butlers, valets, and housekeepers. They ride elevators with the first couple, helping them get to their destination; they iron their clothes and change their sheets; they escort them across the White House grounds; and they deliver their meals. “The West Wing and East Wing, plus the whole residence operation—from floral shop to ushers to chef to butlers [to the] curator’s office”—are all going to be directly affected by the recent outbreak, [Deesha Dyer, the White House social secretary under Barack Obama] said. (Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump’s chief of staff, said in a statement that “in consultation with the White House Medical Unit, all precautions are being taken to ensure the health and safety of the residence staff.”)
6 Oct 2020 05.33 BST Another Rose Garden event guest tests positive Another attendee at the White House event announcing Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the supreme court has tested positive for coronavirus. The exclusive Rose Garden gathering on 26 September is under scrutiny as multiple people who were there, including the president, have contracted Covid-19. Megachurch Pastor Greg Laurie announced in a Facebook post that he tested positive on Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. He is quarantining and described his symptoms as “mild”.


theguardian--2020-10-05--Trump's desperation to leave hospital shows the dangers ahead

The desperation that has driven Donald Trump to leave hospital prematurely and theatrically pull off his mask on the White House balcony while in the throes of coronavirus infection gives some measure of how dangerous the next four weeks will be .
Many students of Trump ’ s life and career have warned that he would be prepared to sacrifice anyone – even those closest to him – to spare himself the humiliation of a one-term presidency , but even they surely could not have anticipated how literal that sacrifice would be .
It involved creating a culture in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks was scoffed at , and seen as a sign of disloyalty , the worst sin in the Trump court .
Trump drove home the message on Monday night , staging a spectacle of his return to the White House maskless , with photographers forced to be in attendance .
He has produced a toxic workplace to the point of potential lethality .
A super-spreader event was held there to make the most out of Trump ’ s nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court – exploiting the opportunity of Ruth Bader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president and his considerable entourage fanned out around the country in pursuit of campaign funds .
It included Trump ’ s insistence on leaving hospital on Sunday night and driving around the block to drink in the adoration of the small crowd of faithful that had gathered at the gate .
In so doing he obliged secret service agents to get into a hermetically sealed armoured car with a patient showing full-on symptomatic coronavirus .
The bodyguards are there to take a bullet for the president , not to take one from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what Trump was demanding they do for a photo-op .
Amid the ensuing outrage over his insouciance , Trump appeared not to appreciate the point : that he had shown no heed of the safety of others , even loyal public servants .
His reaction only served to prove that same point .
He did not grasp that these people had significance .
“ It is reported that the Media is upset because I got into a secure vehicle to say thank you to the many fans and supporters who were standing outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and even days , to pay their respect to their President .
If I didn ’ t do it , Media would say RUDE !
!
!
” , Trump tweeted .
What stands out is the president ’ s sense that he was the victim once again – and the only other people who mattered were those who had shown their personal allegiance to him .
No one really thought that Trump would emerge chastened from his brush with the virus ( if the encounter is truly over – his doctor has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the woods ” ) .
But not only was he unrepentant about the White House ’ s cavalier approach to masks and social distancing , he has reinforced it .
“ Don ’ t be afraid of Covid , ” he tweeted .
“ Don ’ t let it dominate your life .
We have developed , under the Trump Administration , some really great drugs & knowledge.
” Entirely absent was any acknowledgement of the more than 200,000 dead , the many more suffering serious and long lasting symptoms – and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great drugs ” he was given at Walter Reed hospital were experimental and way beyond the reach of ordinary patients .
These facts are evident to most Americans .
In a new survey commissioned by CNN from the polling organisation SSRS , two-thirds of them said Trump acted irresponsibly in handling the risk of infection to himself and those around him .
Joe Biden ’ s nationwide lead has widened further .
There is now a very real danger of a vicious cycle .
Desperation fuels Trump ’ s unpopularity , which triggers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by October surprises , and the nation is only five days into the month .
The calendar is unfurling towards the 3 November vote with a president who has little to lose from gambling .
The principal victims of his lack of empathy so far have been the concentric circles of supporters around him .
In the coming weeks the collateral damage from his panic is likely to spread further afield .
The president is already openly calling his supporters to gather at the polls as “ watchers ” on election day , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rigged against their leader .
No one doubts now that he would take chaos and bloodshed over defeat , and the implications may not stop at the nation ’ s shore , with the greatest fear being a combination of a foreign adversary seeking to exploit a weakened administration , and a commander in chief ready to do anything to avoid looking weak .

The desperation that has driven Donald Trump to leave hospital prematurely and theatrically pull off his mask on the White House balcony while in the throes of coronavirus infection gives some measure of how dangerous the next four weeks will be.
Many students of Trump’s life and career have warned that he would be prepared to sacrifice anyone – even those closest to him – to spare himself the humiliation of a one-term presidency, but even they surely could not have anticipated how literal that sacrifice would be.
It involved creating a culture in the White House in which the wearing of masks was scoffed at, and seen as a sign of disloyalty, the worst sin in the Trump court. Trump drove home the message on Monday night, staging a spectacle of his return to the White House maskless, with photographers forced to be in attendance. He has produced a toxic workplace to the point of potential lethality.
A super-spreader event was held there to make the most out of Trump’s nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court – exploiting the opportunity of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, and then the president and his considerable entourage fanned out around the country in pursuit of campaign funds.
It included Trump’s insistence on leaving hospital on Sunday night and driving around the block to drink in the adoration of the small crowd of faithful that had gathered at the gate. In so doing he obliged secret service agents to get into a hermetically sealed armoured car with a patient showing full-on symptomatic coronavirus.
The bodyguards are there to take a bullet for the president, not to take one from him, but that was in effect what Trump was demanding they do for a photo-op.
Amid the ensuing outrage over his insouciance, Trump appeared not to appreciate the point: that he had shown no heed of the safety of others, even loyal public servants. His reaction only served to prove that same point. He did not grasp that these people had significance.
“It is reported that the Media is upset because I got into a secure vehicle to say thank you to the many fans and supporters who were standing outside of the hospital for many hours, and even days, to pay their respect to their President. If I didn’t do it, Media would say RUDE!!!”, Trump tweeted.
What stands out is the president’s sense that he was the victim once again – and the only other people who mattered were those who had shown their personal allegiance to him.
No one really thought that Trump would emerge chastened from his brush with the virus (if the encounter is truly over – his doctor has stressed he is not “out of the woods”). But not only was he unrepentant about the White House’s cavalier approach to masks and social distancing, he has reinforced it.
“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” he tweeted. “Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge.”
Entirely absent was any acknowledgement of the more than 200,000 dead, the many more suffering serious and long lasting symptoms – and the reality that some of the “really great drugs” he was given at Walter Reed hospital were experimental and way beyond the reach of ordinary patients.
These facts are evident to most Americans. In a new survey commissioned by CNN from the polling organisation SSRS, two-thirds of them said Trump acted irresponsibly in handling the risk of infection to himself and those around him. Joe Biden’s nationwide lead has widened further.
01:23 'Masks matter': Biden says Trump is responsible for contracting coronavirus – video
There is now a very real danger of a vicious cycle. Desperation fuels Trump’s unpopularity, which triggers more desperation. Americans are already exhausted by October surprises, and the nation is only five days into the month. The calendar is unfurling towards the 3 November vote with a president who has little to lose from gambling.
The principal victims of his lack of empathy so far have been the concentric circles of supporters around him. In the coming weeks the collateral damage from his panic is likely to spread further afield. The president is already openly calling his supporters to gather at the polls as “watchers” on election day, and primed them to expect a vote rigged against their leader.
No one doubts now that he would take chaos and bloodshed over defeat, and the implications may not stop at the nation’s shore, with the greatest fear being a combination of a foreign adversary seeking to exploit a weakened administration, and a commander in chief ready to do anything to avoid looking weak.


theguardian--2020-10-05--Melania Trump discusses Stormy Daniels in secretly recorded tapes

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff , a New York socialite turned author of a tell-all book about her relationship with Melania Trump , has released another recording of America ’ s first lady in embarrassingly candid conversation , this time discussing an adult film star accused of an affair with her husband .
On the recording Melania Trump discusses Stormy Daniels , who the first lady calls “ the porn hooker ” .
Wolkoff released the recording on Mea Culpa , a podcast presented by Michael Cohen , Donald Trump ’ s former lawyer and fixer .
Cohen has also written a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Melania & Me , has perhaps become more of a headache for the White House , as the author releases recordings of conversations with the first lady that she says she made in self-defence .
Wolkoff left the White House amid investigations of fundraising for the inauguration .
In February 2018 , the New York Times reported that from $ 107m raised , a company started by Wolkoff received nearly $ 26m .
Wolkoff reportedly banked $ 500,000 .
The Times also reported that a government watchdog accused the inaugural committee of “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wolkoff , who denies wrongdoing , says Melania Trump refused to defend her .
Speaking to Cohen , Wolkoff said she had “ needed to let a reporter listen to the tapes , because [ the White House ] made sure that people didn ’ t believe what I was saying … once I had already been severed and accused of criminal activity.
” “ The White House created a narrative , ” she added , “ because I didn ’ t follow along with the one they wanted.
” That narrative , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not know about fundraising for the inaugural and any alleged improprieties .
“ Nothing took place without Donald ’ s approval , ” Wolkoff told Cohen .
“ Nothing took place without Melania knowing.
” Midway through the hour-long interview , Wolkoff played a snatch of tape in which the first lady complained about a Vogue photoshoot from 2018 .
“ Go Google and read it , ” the first lady says .
“ Annie Leibovitz shot the porn hooker , and she will be [ in ] one of the issues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denies an affair with Daniels , whose real name is Stephanie Clifford .
But Cohen orchestrated a hush money payment in the case , an act that contributed to his three-year prison sentence arising from the work of special counsel Robert Mueller .
“ Shut the fuck up , ” Wolkoff responds on the tape .
“ For what ?
” “ It was yesterday it came up , ” Melania Trump says .
“ For Vogue .
It will be in Vogue .
Annie Leibovitz shot her.
” Leibovitz photographed Daniels and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for an August 2018 story entitled Stormy Daniels Isn ’ t Backing Down .
In her book , Wolkoff writes of meeting the then Melania Knauss at the Vogue offices in New York in 2003 .
Speaking to Cohen , she said : “ I actually opened the door for her while I was working at Vogue , and I think I was more of an attraction to Melania and Donald than they were for me .
Because what were they doing for me ?
It wasn ’ t as if I needed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Melania as this nice , sweet , young , striving model.
” Cohen also asked Wolkoff about how the first lady reacted to reports of her husband ’ s affairs , such as with Daniels , which the model says happened shortly after the birth of Melania ’ s son , Barron .
“ She told me , ” Wolkoff said , “ that Donald had to be prepared for his whole life to be open to the media , to the world if he won [ the presidency ] .
And in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ And so do you.
’ ” Last week , the Trumps both announced they had contracted the coronavirus .
On the same night , Wolkoff provided to CNN a recording of the first lady complaining about having to supervise White House decorations ( “ Who gives a fuck about the Christmas stuff ? )
and being criticized over her husband ’ s policy of separating migrant families ( “ Give me a fucking break ” ) .

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a New York socialite turned author of a tell-all book about her relationship with Melania Trump, has released another recording of America’s first lady in embarrassingly candid conversation, this time discussing an adult film star accused of an affair with her husband.
On the recording Melania Trump discusses Stormy Daniels, who the first lady calls “the porn hooker”. Wolkoff released the recording on Mea Culpa, a podcast presented by Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer.
Cohen has also written a tell-all but Wolkoff’s book, Melania & Me, has perhaps become more of a headache for the White House, as the author releases recordings of conversations with the first lady that she says she made in self-defence.
Wolkoff left the White House amid investigations of fundraising for the inauguration. In February 2018, the New York Times reported that from $107m raised, a company started by Wolkoff received nearly $26m. Wolkoff reportedly banked $500,000. The Times also reported that a government watchdog accused the inaugural committee of “fiscal mismanagement at its worst”.
Wolkoff, who denies wrongdoing, says Melania Trump refused to defend her.
Speaking to Cohen, Wolkoff said she had “needed to let a reporter listen to the tapes, because [the White House] made sure that people didn’t believe what I was saying … once I had already been severed and accused of criminal activity.
“The White House created a narrative,” she added, “because I didn’t follow along with the one they wanted.” That narrative, she said, was that the Trumps did not know about fundraising for the inaugural and any alleged improprieties.
“Nothing took place without Donald’s approval,” Wolkoff told Cohen. “Nothing took place without Melania knowing.”
Midway through the hour-long interview, Wolkoff played a snatch of tape in which the first lady complained about a Vogue photoshoot from 2018.
“Go Google and read it,” the first lady says. “Annie Leibovitz shot the porn hooker, and she will be [in] one of the issues, September or October.”
“What do you mean?” Wolkoff asks.
“Stormy,” Trump says.
Donald Trump denies an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. But Cohen orchestrated a hush money payment in the case, an act that contributed to his three-year prison sentence arising from the work of special counsel Robert Mueller.
“Shut the fuck up,” Wolkoff responds on the tape. “For what?”
“It was yesterday it came up,” Melania Trump says. “For Vogue. It will be in Vogue. Annie Leibovitz shot her.”
Leibovitz photographed Daniels and her then attorney, Michael Avenatti, for an August 2018 story entitled Stormy Daniels Isn’t Backing Down.
In her book, Wolkoff writes of meeting the then Melania Knauss at the Vogue offices in New York in 2003.
Speaking to Cohen, she said: “I actually opened the door for her while I was working at Vogue, and I think I was more of an attraction to Melania and Donald than they were for me. Because what were they doing for me? It wasn’t as if I needed anything from them. I actually saw Melania as this nice, sweet, young, striving model.”
Cohen also asked Wolkoff about how the first lady reacted to reports of her husband’s affairs, such as with Daniels, which the model says happened shortly after the birth of Melania’s son, Barron.
“She told me,” Wolkoff said, “that Donald had to be prepared for his whole life to be open to the media, to the world if he won [the presidency]. And in that moment I thought to myself, ‘And so do you.’”
Last week, the Trumps both announced they had contracted the coronavirus. On the same night, Wolkoff provided to CNN a recording of the first lady complaining about having to supervise White House decorations (“Who gives a fuck about the Christmas stuff?) and being criticized over her husband’s policy of separating migrant families (“Give me a fucking break”).