President Donald Trump announced he and First Lady Melania Trump have the coronavirus.
The president announced that he and Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 after White House adviser Hope Hicks had been infected with the potentially deadly virus, upending the final weeks of the election.
Trump and his wife will quarantine for two weeks to avoid exposing anyone else, knocking him off the campaign trail and already raising calls from the president's allies that Joe Biden suspend his campaign activities.
“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Trump tweeted. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”
Critics pounced on Trump's admission that he had contracted the virus, noting that he had declined to wear a protective mask on numerous occasions. "Of course this happened," remarked former Obama Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes on Twitter. "Wearing a mask was literally the least he could have done," quipped another Twitter user.
The Lincoln Project — a group of Republicans opposed to Trump — tweeted, "don't test and there won't be a problem." (The remark was a play on Trump's 2020 comment, "If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, if any.")
The White House physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said that Trump and his wife, Melania, were well.
“The president and first lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,” Conley said in a statement. “Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.”
Upon hearing the news, Anthony Scaramucci, who was briefly the White House's Communications Director, called on Trump to drop out of the race.
"I am sorry you have Covid 19 but more sorry for the country," Scaramucci said. "Your complete dereliction of duty has put so many people in harm’s way and has caused so many unnecessary deaths and illnesses. For love of country and humankind, drop out of the race!"
Earlier in the day, Trump told an audience that “the end of the pandemic is in sight.” The White House cancelled plans for Trump to fly to Florida for a campaign rally tomorrow. At least 207,000 Americans have been killed by the virus.
Other responses on Twitter appear below.
