Trump infection puts several top aides at risk
President Donald Trump interacted or traveled with a large coterie of top aides and advisers in the days before he was diagnosed with COVID-19, raising the risk of a widespread outbreak within the White House.
The circle of close contacts with the infected president and his wife, Melania, begins with his adviser Hope Hicks, who fell ill Wednesday night. She traveled with Trump to the presidential debate on Tuesday and to campaign stops in Minnesota on Wednesday.
She was seen in close quarters with several other officials, including White House senior adviser Stephen Miller and Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller.
Depending on how far the virus spreads through the halls of the West Wing and Congress, as well as the president’s campaign headquarters, much more than Trump’s travel schedule may be derailed. Face-to-face negotiations over another round of economic stimulus may be compli
cated, and the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett could be delayed.
It wasn’t immediately clear when or how the president was infected and how many other White House aides will be asked to quarantine due to contact with the Trumps or Hicks. The typical incubation period for the virus, or time between exposure and emergence of symptoms, is
thought to be two to five days.
It is possible, if not likely, the president was infected before Wednesday, when Hicks started exhibiting signs of illness.
Ronny Jackson, the president’s former White House physician, told Fox News early Friday morning that the positive test would “affect everybody who has been around the president” as they would likely need to self-isolate. He cautioned that it’s not yet clear how widely the virus has circulated. Even though Hicks tested positive, “that doesn’t mean that’s the person he got it from,” Jackson told Fox.
“Contract tracing is being done and the appropriate notifications and recommendations will be made,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.
White House aides are rarely seen wearing masks or social distancing, as the president looks to spur on a recovery and downplay the risk of the virus.
The chief of staff has tested negative for the virus every day this week as part of routine testing for staff members in close proximity to the president, according to his top aide Ben Williamson.
Hicks tested negative for infection before the Minneapolis trip but began feeling ill while there; she was isolated on the flight back to Washington, according to people familiar with the matter. It is unclear precisely how other passengers aboard Air Force One were protected from infection.