Melania Trump will isolate at White House
“Thank you to medical staff & caretakers everywhere, & my continued prayers for those who are ill or have a family member impacted by the virus.” First lady Melania Trump In a Twitter post
First lady Melania Trump, isolating after testing positive for COVID-19, hasn’t left and won’t leave the White House to visit the president in the hospital.
On Monday, she tweeted a new status report, saying, “I am feeling good and will continue to rest at home.”
“My family is grateful for all of the prayers & support! I am feeling good & will continue to rest at home. Thank you to medical staff & caretakers everywhere, & my continued prayers for those who are ill or have a family member impacted by the virus,” her post on her official Twitter account read.
NBC News on Sunday and CNN on Monday reported that an unnamed White House official confirmed the first lady would not break isolation to visit her husband because of concern that would expose the Secret Service agents who would drive her there and the medical staff who would greet her.
These reports come after the president, who also tested positive and has been in the hospital for treatment since Friday evening, was driven by his Secret Service agents inside a sealed car to wave to a crowd of his supporters gathered outside the front gates of the hospital Sunday afternoon.
“I really appreciate all of the fans and supporters outside of the hospital. The fact is, they really love our Country and are seeing how we are MAKING IT GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!” he tweeted.
Now the question is: If President Donald Trump is discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center later Monday, as his chief of staff Mark Meadows suggested, will he and she isolate from each other and their son, Barron, inside the residence?
Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s chief of staff and spokeswoman, referred USA TODAY to the first lady’s tweet. She did not respond to questions about plans should the president return to the White House.
Over the weekend, Grisham told USA TODAY the first lady was doing well in the residence and had stayed in contact with the president by phone. Barron, 14, has tested negative, Grisham said, and “all precautions are being taken to ensure he’s kept safe and healthy.” It’s not clear if Barron is in the White House with his mother.
The president’s ride to greet his fans on Sunday provoked backlash from some Democrats and from some doctors not involved in his care who assailed him for endangering the agents inside the armored and sealed car with him.
“It is criminal negligence for @realDonaldTrump to recklessly expose others. Pray for the Secret Service. LAW & ORDER!,” tweeted Rep. Eric Swalwell on Sunday.
Dr. James P. Phillips, chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University in Washington, tweeted that the risk of virus transmission inside the president’s vehicle is “as high as it gets” outside medical procedures and that “the irresponsibility is astounding.” He said in another tweet his “thoughts are with the Secret Service” agents.
“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,” Phillips tweeted.
While taking a different course from the president, the first lady did not explicitly criticize his actions, in keeping with her usual policy since she moved into the White House in June 2017.
More recently, she differed in her actions from her husband on the question of wearing face masks to guard against the virus, which until recently he did not encourage. She was seen wearing one in public earlier than he and has posted multiple tweets and videos imploring people to wear them and to follow other medical guidelines to keep the virus from spreading.
But both she and her husband have been seen recently not wearing masks in large gatherings, including at the Sept. 26 Rose Garden ceremony to announce a new Supreme Court nominee, which may have been a superspreading event given the number of White House officials, including the president and first lady, who subsequently tested positive.