Trump will be plunging ahead on COVID-19 without self-isolating health experts: White House reporter

A White House correspondent said President Donald Trump would be without some of his top public health experts as they self-quarantine after possible exposure to the coronavirus.

An aide to Vice President Mike Pence and two other West Wing staffers have tested positive for the virus, and Jonathan Lemire, of the Associated Press, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that other advisers and aides are concerned about their own health.

"He's going to start with a news conference, it's back," Lemire said. "He's got one today at 4:00 in the Rose Garden. He is going to give an update on the nation's testing program which, of course, has been the single matter where this administration has faced the most criticism, for the lack of widespread, effective testing, which is seen, of course, as the biggest obstacle to having a reopening of this nation, to have state economies start to spring back to life -- how hard it'd be to do that without the testing."

But the president will be moving ahead without some of his top experts, at least for now.

"The president is going to address that this afternoon in that news conference, there is a lot going on," Lemire said. "Of course, the news conference is going to be held without a number of his top advisers and medical experts, who you just listed. They are all self-isolating, self-quarantining, after having been exposed to a staffer testing positive to the virus. We have had a few staffers who came back with positive results, showing the reach of the virus into the West Wing. You played the clip about Kevin Hassett, economic adviser, saying he is fearful to go to work, fearful of the exposure there."

"We started to see over the weekend Secret Service agents wearing masks in the West Wing," he added. "That is still the exception, most senior staff is not wearing them. The president has said he doesn't want to do that."

The president is trying to project an image of normalcy, Lemire said, but that goes against the growing sense of unease among his staffers after their possible exposure to the deadly virus.

"The White House is going to try to keep pushing the idea of a return to normalcy," Lemire said. "According to FAA notices, the president will be traveling to Pennsylvania this week for another event, like he was in Arizona last week. There is deep worry about where this is going. There's deep worry among his inner circle."