With slightly over about a month to go until the U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump’s positive test for the COVID-19 has tossed his timetable into question, and conceivably put his participation in the next debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden in doubt.
Trump announced his positive test by means of Twitter early Friday morning, saying he and his wife, Melania, who has likewise tested positive, would start their “quarantine and recovery process right away.”
White House physician Sean Conley said in an update that Trump and his wife “are both well right now” and “plan to stay at home inside the White House during their recuperation.” A White House official later said the president was experiencing “mild symptoms.”
No indication has been given for how long the Trumps plan to quarantine.
The White House released a new schedule for the president shortly after 1 a.m. ET Friday. Trump was due to attend a fundraiser and meet with supporters at his hotel in Washington, D.C., Friday afternoon, and then fly to a campaign rally in Sanford, Fla., in the evening, but those events have been cancelled.
Still on his schedule for Friday is a phone call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors. That event is closed to the media.
A key upcoming event will be the second of three presidential debates, which is slated for Oct. 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. If Trump remains in quarantine for two weeks, he may be forced to miss it.
The third debate is scheduled for Oct. 22 at Belmont University in Nashville.
Thus far in the election campaign, Trump has hosted many large indoor and outdoor rallies. According to his re-election campaign website, he was scheduled to hold two events on Saturday in Wisconsin, followed by events on Monday and Tuesday in Arizona.
Photo credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
News source: CBC News
