White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany (photo via White House/public domain)Add White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany to the list of Trump administration officials who have now tested positive for the coronavirus.
On Sunday, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who helped Donald Trump with debate prep prior to last Tuesday’s presidential debate, also announced he’s tested positive.
USA Today is keeping a running update on the Trump administration officials and guests who have tested positive for the virus in the past week.
The list as of Monday morning:
• President Donald Trump
• First lady Melania Trump
• Hope Hicks, senior adviser to the president
• Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager
• Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary
• Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
• Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah
• Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina
• Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin
• Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor who helped Trump with debate prep
• Nicholas Luna, assistant and “body man” to the president
• Three White House reporters
• One White House staffer
• Kellyanne Conway, former White House senior adviser
• The Rev. John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame University (Jenkins was at the White House Saturday, when Trump introduced Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee)
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports Trump is growing more and more concerned his hospitalization due to COVID-19 is making him ‘appear weak.’ The Donald apparently wanted to be discharged from the hospital yesterday, but the doctors disagreed with that plan.
So, instead, he jumped in an SUV with Secret Service members (putting them at risk in such closed, air-tight quarters), and took a loop around Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to wave at followers. #selfish
Donald Trump leaves the hospital to wave to followers (photo: public domain)The Times also reports that the fact that Trump was given a medication usually prescribed to seriously ill COVID-19 patients raised more questions about the severity of his condition.
Mr. Trump’s camera-friendly, morale-boosting “surprise visit,” however, may have masked the reality of his condition, and his seeming energy may have reflected the fact that he was given the steroid dexamethasone, according to medical experts.
Dexamethasone has been shown to help patients who are severely ill with Covid-19, but it is typically not used in mild or moderate cases of the disease.
Moreover, some medical experts said Mr. Trump’s trip out of the hospital was reckless, unnecessarily putting both hospital staff members and Secret Service agents at risk for a stunt. Others questioned the president’s statement in his video that he had met soldiers while at Walter Reed.
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) October 5, 2020
I just received word that I am positive for COVID-19. I want to thank all of my friends and colleagues who have reached out to ask how I was feeling in the last day or two. I will be receiving medical attention today and will keep the necessary folks apprised of my condition.
— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) October 3, 2020
The president had wanted to be discharged from Walter Reed yesterday, but doctors weren’t okay with it. So the car ride became the compromise https://t.co/bwHty5jcaD
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 5, 2020