Trump’s medical team said the president’s condition was improving and he could be discharged from the hospital on Monday.
By Holly Thomas
Monday, October 5
EXPERTS SUSPICIOUS: TRUMP’S CASE SEVERE? Doctors not involved in treating President Donald Trump for COVID-19 said the fact that he has been started on dexamethasone — a generic steroid used to reduce inflammation — is evidence his case is severe. Trump’s medical team said the president’s condition was improving and he could be discharged from the hospital on Monday. “What I heard in the news conference description suggested the president has more severe illness than the generally upbeat picture painted,” said Dr. Daniel McQuillen, an infectious disease specialist. CNN’s chief medical correspondent meanwhile said it’s “very hard to trust or believe” Trump’s medical team right now. [Reuters]
TRUMP ‘DIDN’T DISCLOSE’ FIRST POSITIVE COVID-19 TEST DURING FOX INTERVIEW Trump had already been notified he tested positive for coronavirus by the time he appeared on Fox News for an interview Thursday night, but he didn’t disclose that at the time, according to The Wall Street Journal. During an interview with Sean Hannity, Trump merely confirmed one of his aides, Hope Hicks, had been diagnosed with coronavirus. He said he wouldn’t receive his results until later that night or the following morning. WSJ reports Trump had already received a positive coronavirus test by the time he appeared on Hannity’s show. [HuffPost]
‘INSANITY’: TRUMP LEAVES HOSPITAL TO WAVE AT SUPPORTERS Despite his sickness and infection, Trump decided to surprise supporters gathered outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center — a decision slammed by an attending physician as reckless “insanity” that subjected Secret Service and other staff in his limousine to extreme risk of exposure. Meanwhile, New Jersey health officials say that hundreds of Trump fundraiser guests were exposed to COVID-19. Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaign the Democratic presidential nominee again tested negative for COVID-19. [HuffPost]
TRUMP CAMPAIGN AIDE DEFENDS FIRST FAMILY’S REFUSAL TO WEAR MASKS An adviser to Trump’s campaign defended the first family’s decision not to wear masks during last week’s presidential debate, which flouted rules set by the event’s host and agreed to by Trump’s campaign. On “Fox News Sunday,” host Chris Wallace told Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes that the rules about wearing masks “could not have been more clear.” Though first lady Melania Trump and four of Trump’s children ― Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump and Ivanka Trump ― were seen walking into the debate wearing masks, they removed them after being seated and refused a doctor’s admonition to put them on. [HuffPost]
TRUMP ADVISER ACCUSES BIDEN OF USING MASK AS ‘POLITICAL PROP’ Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump’s reelection campaign, criticized how frequently Joe Biden wears a face mask, claiming that the 2020 front-runner uses the item “as a prop.” “ A mask is very important, but even if he’s ― he could be 20, 30 feet away from the nearest person and still have the mask on. That’s not going to change anything that’s out there,” Miller told ABC News on Sunday. Biden sent his well wishes to Trump, who remains in hospital, while campaigning in Michigan, saying, “I genuinely feel badly for the president.” [HuffPost]
Trump medical team leader Sean Conley.
GAY MEN HIJACK ‘PROUD BOYS’ HASHTAG Gay men launched a savvy campaign over the weekend to appropriate the hashtag of the white supremacist “Proud Boys” with a tsunami of touching images and messages on social media. The love resistance movement sent “Proud Boys” zooming into the trending stratosphere. But the posts weren’t riddled with the disturbing images and messages by the group Trump told to “stand by” after he was asked to condemn white supremacists at last week’s presidential debate. Instead, these Proud Boys Twitter posts were filled with photos of embraces and wedding scenes, and expressions of love. [HuffPost]
ALL THE REPUBLICANS IN TRUMP’S ORBIT WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE SO FAR A busy week of travel, public events and private meetings led a shocking number of people around Trump to contract the coronavirus. Trump and first lady Melania Trump revealed their positive diagnoses early Friday, just a few hours after Hope Hicks. Since then, a growing number of other frequent contacts of the president’s have tested positive. Many were linked to Trump’s packed White House Rose Garden event on Sept. 26, when Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Social media posts show people who went to a New Jersey fundraiser with Trump had fanned out across the country, going out in public and not wearing masks. [HuffPost]
TOP AIDES ACCUSE TEXAS AG OF BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION Seven top aides to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have accused him of bribery, abuse of office and other criminal offenses. A letter from the staffers said it was a notice to Paxton’s office that the aides had reported a “potential violation of law” by Paxton to the “appropriate law enforcement authority.” “We have a good faith belief that the Attorney General is violating federal and/or state law, including prohibitions relating to improper influence, abuse of office, bribery and other potential criminal offenses,” the letter says. Paxton has been under indictment on securities fraud charges for years. [AP]
CORPORATE POLLUTERS GET MILLIONS IN FEDERAL COVID-19 AID At least five companies with histories of violating environmental rules secured emergency government loans totaling as much as $32 million to retain employees during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. Those companies, most in the energy sector, have collectively paid more than $52 million in penalties for violations of clean air and other environmental regulations.. Each secured a sizable loan within a month of the Paycheck Protection Program launching in early April. [HuffPost]
TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY WILL IMPACT REFUGEES LONG AFTER HE LEAVES OFFICE Trump has spent years dismantling the refugee system and on Wednesday proposed cutting the already record-low admissions cap to 15,000 for the next fiscal year. Joe Biden has pledged to raise the maximum number of refugee admissions to 125,000 a year if he wins. While he could change the target number for admissions with comparative ease if he becomes president, Biden would face a series of challenges, including restoring a resettlement infrastructure that has faced layoffs and closures due to cuts forced by the Trump administration. [HuffPost]
NEW YORK WILL AGAIN CLOSE SCHOOLS, SOME BUSINESSES New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced schools and nonessential businesses in nine New York City ZIP codes will have to close temporarily as the areas face worrying spikes in coronavirus cases. The closures, set to begin Oct. 7, mark the first major reversal in the city’s reopening plans since the pandemic forced shutdowns in March. Some of the ZIP codes de Blasio highlighted have coronavirus positivity rates nearing 9%, although he said the city as a whole “continues to have a low positivity level.” [HuffPost]