Donald Trump considering an address to the nation after he and Melania test POSITIVE for COVID

President Donald Trump is considering an address to the nation on Friday after the shocking news he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.

White House aides have been discussing ways for the president to be seen in public Friday to reassure Americans he is well and still leading the country. And one of those options is a national address, The New York Times reported on Friday. 

The president tweeted the news of his diagnosis shortly before 1am EST Friday, writing: ‘Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!’ 

Trump is 74 years old and is medically obese, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus. 

Joe Biden, Trump’s 77-year-old opponent who he debated on Tuesday night, is being tested on Friday morning. 

Vice President Mike Pence has tested negative as has Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin. It remains unclear whether any other members of the Trump family have been tested, or what the results of those tests are. 

A statement from the White House doctor said both the president and first lady are ‘well at this time’ but did not say if either have symptoms.  If Trump becomes seriously ill, there are constitutional procedures that would allow Vice President Mike Pence to assume power temporarily, just weeks before the November 3 election.

But if Trump suffers mild or no symptoms, the president would be able to tout his recovery as evidence that the virus is a less grave threat than many believe. 

Hicks tested positive on Thursday after starting to feel unwell on Wednesday night while traveling back from a rally in Minnesota on Air Force One. The President was on the plane with her but she kept a safe distance from him and others when she started experiencing symptoms. 

Despite her not feeling well and then testing positive on Thursday, Trump carried on with a packed campaign schedule on Thursday during the day. 

Hicks’ diagnosis was kept a secret for 24 hours.

Last photo before diagnosis: Donald Trump returns to the White House from his helicopter Marine One on Thursday afternoon, hours before revealing that he and the first lady had tested positive for Covid-19. He had attended a fundraiser in New Jersey

Last photo before diagnosis: Donald Trump returns to the White House from his helicopter Marine One on Thursday afternoon, hours before revealing that he and the first lady had tested positive for Covid-19. He had attended a fundraiser in New Jersey

Hope Hicks hours before her diagnosis: Hope Hicks, far right, is pictured boarding Marine One on Wednesday. The President was also onboard alongside Stephen Miller, second from right, Jared Kushner, center. Her coronavirus diagnosis was announced the next day. They were on their way to Minnesota when this photograph was taken. She started feeling unwell on the way back

Hope Hicks hours before her diagnosis: Hope Hicks, far right, is pictured boarding Marine One on Wednesday. The President was also onboard alongside Stephen Miller, second from right, Jared Kushner, center. Her coronavirus diagnosis was announced the next day. They were on their way to Minnesota when this photograph was taken. She started feeling unwell on the way back 

It comes following news that the president’s top aide Hope Hicks contracted the virus after traveling with Trump on Air Force One and Marine One multiple times over the last week. 

A TIMELINE OF THE PRESIDENT’S TRAVEL 

Saturday, September 26: Trump announces his Supreme Court pick at the White House, then travels to a rally in Pennsylvania with aides including Hope Hicks. 

Sunday, September 27: The president plays golf in Virginia, gives a press conference in the White House briefing room and hosts a reception for Gold Star families. 

Monday, September 28: Trump gives a press briefing and inspects pickup vehicles on the White House lawn.  

Tuesday, September 29: Hicks is aboard Air Force One with the president and Melania to travel to the first presidential debate in Cleveland. Hicks is seen leaving the jet without a mask. 

The president spars with Joe Biden in a chaotic debate. Trump family members do not wear masks during the debate, violating venue rules.  

Wednesday, September 30: Hicks travels on Marine One and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota Wednesday.

She is understood to have felt poorly on the way back, quarantining on the presidential plane to get home. 

Thursday, October 1: Trump still travels to New Jersey for a fundraiser. 

Hicks tests positive. 

Trump says he is awaiting test results, before confirming he and wife Melania have tested positive for Covid-19. 

Friday, October 2: A political rally in Sanford, Florida is cancelled. 

Hicks, 31, is said to have first felt unwell returning from a rally in Minnesota on the president’s plane Wednesday evening. 

She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, according to an administration official.

Trump then continued with his schedule Thursday and traveled to and from his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort to take part in two campaign events. He flew back to the White House on Thursday evening, when it was publicly confirmed Hicks had the virus. 

His social media director Dan Scavino and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who were originally set to join him on the Thursday trip, were replaced at the last minute by other aides after coming into contact with Hicks. 

First lady Melania, 50, tweeted: ‘As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.’ 

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening. The White House had earlier distributed a schedule for Friday that showed he planned to go forward with a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a political rally in Sanford, Florida. That has since been canceled. 

The second presidential debate on October 15 is also in doubt, while there is no word yet on whether 77-year-old Joe Biden is being tested or will have to isolate. 

Markets reacted badly after Trump’s diagnosis today, with stock futures losing 1.9 per cent on the S&P 500, while oil prices also slipped. 

Europe’s major stock markets also dived in opening trade on Friday, with London’s FTSE 100 and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 both shedding more than one per cent.  

‘To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement,’ Holland’s Rabobank said in a commentary. 

‘Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this US election campaign.’  

Following last night’s news, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted: ‘The strength of the entire country is with President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS. America stands united. Our country stands strong. Your President will continue to put the People first!’ 

In a letter to McEnany, White House physician Sean Conley said medics would keep a ‘vigilant watch’ on the president’s health. 

‘The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,’ Dr Conley said. 

Pence's Press Secretary, Devin O'Malley, confirmed that he'd tested negative on Friday

Pence’s Press Secretary, Devin O’Malley, confirmed that he’d tested negative on Friday 

‘The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our our country’s greatest medical professionals and institutions.

‘Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.’

Vice President Pence said: ‘Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President Donald Trump and [first lady] Melania Trump. 

‘We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump and our wonderful First Lady Melania.’ 

White House physician Dr Sean Conley sent a letter to press secretary Kayleigh McEnany saying that the president and first lady were 'well' and promising to keep a 'vigilant watch'

White House physician Dr Sean Conley sent a letter to press secretary Kayleigh McEnany saying that the president and first lady were ‘well’ and promising to keep a ‘vigilant watch’ 

Joe Biden, pictured on the campaign trail in his home state of Delaware on Thursday, spent Tuesday night in fairly close proximity to the president but there was no immediate word on whether he had been tested or was isolating. He will be tested on Friday morning

Joe Biden, pictured on the campaign trail in his home state of Delaware on Thursday, spent Tuesday night in fairly close proximity to the president but there was no immediate word on whether he had been tested or was isolating. He will be tested on Friday morning

NEGATIVE: Both Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary Treasury Steve Mnuchin tested negative on Friday morning

NEGATIVE: Both Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary Treasury Steve Mnuchin tested negative on Friday morning

NEGATIVE: Both Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary Treasury Steve Mnuchin tested negative on Friday morning 

DOW FUTURES PLUNGE AFTER TRUMP’S COVID DIAGNOSIS 

US stock index futures sank as much as 2 percent on Friday as the Dow plunged more than 350 points after President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 356 points, or 1.3 percent, which pointed to a possible opening loss of more than 300 points when Wall Street opens later on Friday morning. 

 

S&P 500 futures fell 1.4 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1.9 percent. 

The US stock index futures dropped immediately after Trump tweeted news of his positive COVID-19 test results on Thursday evening after Wall Street had closed.    

His tweet came just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus after traveling with Trump several times this week. 

The heightened turmoil sent US futures sinking as investors nervously awaited Wall Street’s reopening.   

UK prime minister Boris Johnson, who survived a scare with the virus in April, sent his best wishes to the president and first lady on Twitter, saying: ‘Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.’ 

Trump’s ally Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said that ‘like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery’. 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyeusus, the head of the WHO who has clashed with Trump over the agency’s handling of the pandemic, also sent his best wishes to the president for a ‘full and speedy recovery’. 

Trump has accused the WHO of being too close to China and announced earlier this year that the US would cut off funding for the Geneva-based body.  

News of Trump’s infection has turned attention to Hope Hicks and her travel schedule after the White House aide first felt poorly on the way back from Wednesday’s rally in Minnesota. 

Along with the trip to Minnesota, Hicks had been aboard Air Force One to fly to Tuesday night’s first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.  

She was spotted by DailyMail.com getting off Air Force One in the city without her mask. 

On Tuesday, she was seen in a car without her mask with White House senior adviser Stephen Miller and campaign adviser Jason Miller. She is said to have worn a mask when on Marine One with Trump.  

Hicks also traveled with the president to a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday where she was seen maskless and clapping to the Village People’s YMCA.  

Before announcing his positive test, Trump tweeted to say he and Melania were in quarantine while they awaited their results because of Hicks’s diagnosis. 

 ‘Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible!,’ the president said. 

Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, the president described the 31-year-old Hicks as a ‘very warm person’ and suggested she got close to supporters and contracted the virus.

‘She’s fantastic and she’s done a great job,’ Trump said. 

WEDNESDAY: The crowd cheers as Air Force One arrives with President Donald Trump at Duluth International Airport on Wednesday. Hicks had joined the president on the trip and felt poorly on the way home, according to reports

WEDNESDAY: The crowd cheers as Air Force One arrives with President Donald Trump at Duluth International Airport on Wednesday. Hicks had joined the president on the trip and felt poorly on the way home, according to reports

WEDNESDAY: President Trump throws hats to supporters after speaking at a campaign rally at Duluth International Airport

WEDNESDAY: President Trump throws hats to supporters after speaking at a campaign rally at Duluth International Airport

Who has President Trump been in contact with?  

Traveled on Marine One to a Minnesota rally on Wednesday: 

Hope Hicks, counselor to the president 

Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the president 

Dan Scavino, Social Media Director

John McEntee, Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office

Tuesday’s debate in Ohio, where Trump traveled on Air Force One:  

Rudy Giuliani, personal attorney. Giuliani had spent the weekend at the White House doing debate prep 

Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff

Trump’s children and their partners: Donald Trump Jr, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump

Bill Stepien, campaign manager

Kayleigh McEnany, press secretary

Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill 

Guests of Trump including Alice Johnson,  who was pardoned of federal drug offenses at the urging of Kim Kardashian 

At the White House since Saturday with close unmasked contact with Trump: 

Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court nominee. She then had mask-free meetings with Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and other Republican senators from Monday

Vice President Mike Pence 

Robert Ford, CEO of Abbott Laboratories, who was at the White House on Monday 

Admiral Brett Geroir, assistant Health and Human Services secretary 

Alex Azar, HHS secretary   

East Wing aides, including valets and other White House staff who serve the first family 

Secret Service protection agents 

‘But it’s very, very hard when you are with people from the military and from law enforcement and they come over to you and they, they want to hug you and they want to kiss you, because we really have done a good job for them.’

‘And you get close and things happen,’ the president added. 

Trump said he was ‘surprised’ to hear that Hicks, who previously served as White House communications director and re-joined the administration this year ahead of the election, tested positive. 

‘She wears a mask a lot, but she tested positive,’ the president said.

Typically, according to the CDC, a person develops symptoms five days after being infected, but symptoms can appear as early as two days after infection or as late as 14 days after infection, and the time range can vary.  

There was no immediate comment from Joe Biden’s campaign on whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at Tuesday’s debate with Trump.

Biden, 77, stood some distance apart from the president but there were plenty of raised voices in the bad-tempered debate. The CDC warns that shouting can spread the disease. 

CNN’s medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta said Biden should be ‘immediately tested’, warning that ‘if you are indoors, you could think of the virus like smoke’.  

All the attendees at the Cleveland debate were tested beforehand, while the former vice president’s wife Jill Biden kept her mask on throughout, unlike members of the Trump family. 

The second debate on October 15 is now in jeopardy. Trump could be out of quarantine in 10 days if he shows no symptoms, but if he develops symptoms he would have to isolate for longer. 

In addition, the October 7 vice-presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris also appears in doubt, because Pence will have to isolate if he has been in contact with the president. 

On Thursday evening, before Trump revealed he had tested positive, Biden berated the president for ‘doing everything he can to distract’ from his ‘failed Covid-19 response’. 

In pre-taped remarks to the Al Smith charity dinner, Trump told guests on Thursday night that ‘the end of the pandemic is in sight’. 

‘Through advances in treatment, we have reduced the fatality rate by 85 percent since just April. We are on track to develop and distribute a vaccine before the end of the year, and maybe substantially before,’ Trump claimed. 

Biden has held a consistent lead in the polls, prompting Trump into an ever-more aggressive schedule of campaign rallies around the country. 

Trump’s Florida trip is off today and he looks certain to have to cancel a trip scheduled for this weekend in Wisconsin, another battleground, where Biden has held a small but persistent lead. 

Trump had also been expected to travel frequently next week, including longer distances to western states. 

TUESDAY: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave before boarding Air Force One to travel to the first presidential debate in Cleveland. The president says he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19

TUESDAY: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave before boarding Air Force One to travel to the first presidential debate in Cleveland. The president says he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19

Members of the Trump family including (from left) Eric, Ivanka, Tiffany and Donald Jr took their masks off during the debate in Cleveland on Tuesday night

TUESDAY: Members of the Trump family including (from left) Eric, Ivanka, Tiffany and Donald Jr took their masks off during the debate in Cleveland on Tuesday night 

TUESDAY: Melania Trump had discarded her mask by the time she joined her husband Donald on stage following a rancorous first debate of the 2020 campaign

TUESDAY: Melania Trump had discarded her mask by the time she joined her husband Donald on stage following a rancorous first debate of the 2020 campaign 

TUESDAY: Hope Hicks was spotted getting off Air Force One in Cleveland on Tuesday without her mask ahead of the first presidential debate in the city

TUESDAY: Hope Hicks was spotted getting off Air Force One in Cleveland on Tuesday without her mask ahead of the first presidential debate in the city 

TUESDAY: Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle walk across the tarmac to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base before flying to Cleveland for the first presidential debate Tuesday alongside Hicks

TUESDAY: Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle walk across the tarmac to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base before flying to Cleveland for the first presidential debate Tuesday alongside Hicks 

Why did Trump’s diagnosis take so long despite being ‘most tested man in America’? Hope Hicks was self-isolating on Wednesday

Donald Trump announced his positive test on Thursday, hours after the White House announced that Hope Hicks had come down with the virus.  

Hicks is said to have first felt poorly on Wednesday evening, when she returned from a rally in Minnesota on the president’s plane.

She was quarantined away from others on the jet and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, according to an administration official.

But despite Hicks’s symptoms as early as Wednesday evening, Trump then continued with his schedule Thursday and traveled to and from his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort to take part in two campaign events. They were held behind closed doors to a select audience.  

Trump then flew then back to the White House later Thursday evening, when it was publicly confirmed Hicks had the virus. 

Senior staff have been tested for Covid-19 daily since two people who work at the White House complex tested positive in early May, prompting the White House to step up precautions. Everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test. 

In May press secretary Kayleigh McEneny described Trump as the ‘most tested man in America’. She said: ‘He’s tested more than anyone, multiple times a day. And we believe that he’s acting appropriately.’

But Trump later said: ‘I don’t know about more than one. I do probably on average a test every two days, three days, and I don’t know of any time I’ve taken two in one day, but I could see that happening.’ 

It is not known why the president’s test took so long to come back or whether he was tested Wednesday evening when Hicks first began displaying symptoms. 

Testing for White House staff was ramped after a military valet contracted the virus and Trump and Pence tested negative. 

‘I’ve had very little contact with this gentleman. Know who he is, good person… Yeah it’s a little bit strange, but it’s one of those things,’ Trump said at the time. 

He added that ‘I felt no vulnerability whatsoever,’ saying he felt the situation was controlled ‘very well.’ 

In the same week, Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller – who is married to Trump adviser Stephen Miller – also tested positive. 

People working around the president at the White House had already been getting regular tests for the coronavirus. 

But staff, Secret Service agents, and guests had not been wearing masks in the West Wing. 

On May 11, a memo to the president’s staff told them to wear face coverings, and discouraged unnecessary visits from other parts of the White House complex to the West Wing area.

‘Common sense has finally prevailed,’ one senior administration official said at the time.  

 

Hicks becomes the latest in Trump’s circle to contract the virus after National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and White House coronavirus task force spokeswoman Katie Miller.  

Hicks is one of the president’s most trusted and longest-serving aides, having worked as spokesperson for his 2016 campaign. She originally served as White House as communications director, and re-joined the administration this year as an adviser ahead of the election.  

White House spokesman Judd Deere had earlier said: ‘The president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.

‘White House Operations collaborates with the physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting Covid-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible, both on complex and when the president is traveling.’

Deere did not mention Hicks by name.  

Multiple White House staffers have tested positive for the virus, including Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert O’Brien, and one of the president’s personal valets. 

Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is dating Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump J., tested positive in South Dakota before an Independence Day fireworks show at Mount Rushmore. 

After earlier cases close to the president, the White House instituted a daily testing regimen for the president’s senior aides.  

On May 11, a memo to the president’s staff told them to wear face coverings, and discouraged unnecessary visits from other parts of the White House complex to the West Wing area.

‘Common sense has finally prevailed,’ one senior administration official said at the time.  

It is not known why the president’s test took so long to come back or whether he was tested Wednesday evening when Hicks first began displaying symptoms.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who have been in close contact with a virus patient quarantine for 14 days, White House staffers are considered essential workers. 

CDC’s guidelines for exposed essential workers allows them to return to work if they take precautions, including taking their temperature before going into work, wearing a mask at all times and practicing social distancing.

Trump, the White House and his campaign have flouted other CDC guidelines and recommendations from public health officials, and largely refused to wear masks or practice social distancing.  

Instead, Trump has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of supporters. 

By contrast, Biden is running a deliberately low-key campaign with social distancing at most events, no large gatherings, and conspicuous use of his mask. 

Still, Trump has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19. ‘I felt no vulnerability whatsoever,’ he told reporters back in May. 

Trump mocked Biden at Tuesday’s debate for wearing ‘the biggest mask I’ve ever seen’, while pulling a face covering out of his pocket and saying he wears one when needed. 

The president had previously mocked Biden for wearing a mask in May, saying it was ‘very unusual’ to wear a mask outside and accusing a reporter of trying to be ‘politically correct’ by wearing one himself.  

Biden called Trump a ‘fool’ in response, saying in an interview that ‘this macho stuff’ was costing lives.  

Trump previously said he ‘did not want to give the press the pleasure’ of seeing him with a mask, while saying he had worn one away from the cameras. 

He added that he could not see himself greeting ‘presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens’ while wearing a mask. 

But the president finally changed his tone in July, saying it was ‘patriotic’ to wear a mask. 

Melania Trump, by contrast, had let Americans see her in a face mask as long ago as April while urging people to take the health regulations ‘seriously’. 

‘As the CDC studies the spread of Covid-19, they recommend people wear cloth face coverings in public settings when social distancing can be hard to do,’ Melania said on April 9. 

Trump also sparked outrage and ridicule after suggesting in April that people could inject themselves with disinfectant to fend off the virus, which would be extremely dangerous.  

‘Then I see the disinfectant which knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside for almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that,’ he said. 

SATURDAY: Trump announces his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett (right), who subsequently had unmasked meetings with Republican senators during the week

SATURDAY: Trump announces his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett (right), who subsequently had unmasked meetings with Republican senators during the week 

SATURDAY: From left, White House director of social media Dan Scavino, Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, special assistant to the President and White House trip director William Russell, and director of the White House personnel John McEntee listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Saturday

SATURDAY: From left, White House director of social media Dan Scavino, Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, special assistant to the President and White House trip director William Russell, and director of the White House personnel John McEntee listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Saturday

SEPTEMBER 14: Hope Hicks sitting at close quarters with Donald Trump aboard Marine One, although wearing a mask

SEPTEMBER 14: Hope Hicks sitting at close quarters with Donald Trump aboard Marine One, although wearing a mask 

VP Pence would take power under 25th amendment if Trump becomes incapacitated 

President Trump could potentially be forced to relinquish executive control to Vice President Mike Pence or be replaced on the GOP ticket altogether, if he becomes incapacitated from Covid-19.   

Trump is 74 years old, which puts him at higher risk of serious complications from virus.

With the presidential election 32 days away, the positive result means the government may have to consider contingency plans in line with the Constitution should Trump become too ill to go through with the race. 

The 25th Amendment states that the vice president should replace the commander-in-chief in the event he or she is unable to continue the term.  

After Vice President Pence, the next in line is the Speaker of the House, in this case Nancy Pelosi. 

The president can also transfer power temporarily if he is incapacitated, before resuming his duties when he is able to. This has happened occasionally during scheduled surgeries for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. 

However, the looming election further complicates the matter, as the Democratic and Republican national committees could also pick a replacement to run on their party’s ticket if the nominee were to withdraw. 

The committee could choose to nominate the vice presidential candidate, or another member of their party. 

The selection process would depend on the parties’ respective bylaws.  

Under this scenario, all 168 members of the RNC would have to meet to vote on Trump’s replacement. 

The rules require all members – three from each state and three from six territories –  to cast the same number of votes they were entitled to cast the national convention. 

If members of a given state fail to unanimously agree on the casting of votes, they would then divide it equally and cast a third of those votes. 

That scenario, although hypothetical, would be the first of its kind since no presidential candidate of either party has ever died or withdrawn before an election.  

Early in the pandemic, Trump played down the dangers – saying in January that ‘we have it totally under control’ and in February that ‘it’s going to disappear’.  

Discussing the virus in an interview with Bob Woodward on March 19, Trump admitted that ‘I always wanted to play it down’ – despite having previously told Woodward that the disease was ‘deadly stuff’. 

Those comments sparked anger when they were revealed last month, with Biden accusing Trump of a ‘life and death betrayal’.  

A FiveThirtyEight polling average currently shows 56.5 per cent of Americans disapproving of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, compared to 40.4 per cent who approve. 

Trump was in positive territory until early April, but his ratings gradually fell as the world’s richest country suffered the deadliest outbreak on the planet.

The virus has killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected more than 7 million nationwide.  

While there is currently no evidence that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test also raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness. 

The Constitution’s 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves ‘unable to discharge the powers and duties’ of the presidency. 

If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted ‘a written declaration to the contrary.’

This has happened occasionally, with Ronald Reagan briefly putting George H.W. Bush in charge during surgery in 1985, before George W. Bush temporarily transferred powers to Dick Cheney during colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007. 

These were all brief, scheduled transfers of power and came nowhere near a re-election campaign.  

There is also a second, never-used option: the vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law, can declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would ‘immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President’ until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.

Trump’s infection has also led to suggestions that the election could be delayed, but this is highly unlikely because voting is already underway. 

While the Constitution does not specify an election date, moving the poll would require an act of Congress including support from the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. 

And regardless of the election date, Trump’s term ends on January 20. 

If no president or vice president is elected by then, others in the line of succession would take over – although Pelosi might also be without a job if the House elections were delayed too. 

Trump joins UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro as the most high-profile leaders to contract the disease. 

Johnson, who was 55 at the time, spent an alarming three nights in intensive care at a London hospital before eventually recovering, while 65-year-old Bolsonaro rode out the infection at home.   

When Johnson was ill, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab deputised for him although the nature of his constitutional powers was not fully clear. 

The White House offered to supply medicine for Johnson’s treatment, as did the Chinese government, but London said the PM was receiving the best possible care from Britain’s National Health Service.  

Johnson has blamed his experience on being overweight, and his scare has prompted him to launch a crackdown on unhealthy eating. 

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has described the virus as a ‘little flu’, had long played down the risks and predicted that he would easily survive an infection with Covid-19. 

Germany’s Angela Merkel, 66, self-isolated after a doctor who gave her a jab tested positive, and Canada’s Justin Trudeau, 48, worked from home after his wife fell ill.  

How 74-year-old Trump’s risk of hospitalization is five times greater than someone who contracts COVID in their 20s and he has a 90 times greater risk of death, according to CDC 

At 74 years old, the president is five times more likely to be hospitalized from the virus and 90 times more likely to die than a patient in their 20s, CDC figures show.

Trump and his wife Melania confirmed they had both tested positive for coronavirus early Friday, just hours after top White House aide Hope Hicks was confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Trump and Hicks traveled together on Air Force One multiple times over the last week, including to attend the shambolic opening presidential debate against Joe Biden on Tuesday night.

But while Hicks at 31 years old is considered a low risk patient, at 74 years of age, Trump faces a much higher chance of being hospitalized with the virus, and falling victim to its harshest symptoms.

According to CDC statistics, patients between the ages of 65 and 74 are five times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than someone aged 18 to 29.

Patients of Trump’s age also have a 90 times greater risk of death in comparison to their younger counterparts. 

At 74 years of age, Trump faces a much higher chance of being hospitalized with the virus, and falling victim to its harshest symptoms.

At 74 years of age, Trump faces a much higher chance of being hospitalized with the virus, and falling victim to its harshest symptoms.

According to CDC statistics, patients between the ages of 65 and 74 are five times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than someone aged 18 to 29. Patients in the elder category are also 90 times more likely to die in comparison to their younger counterparts

According to CDC statistics, patients between the ages of 65 and 74 are five times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than someone aged 18 to 29. Patients in the elder category are also 90 times more likely to die in comparison to their younger counterparts

For every 1,000 people in their mid-seventies or older who are infected by COVID-19, around 116 will die – a fatality rate of 8.6 percent.

Trends in coronavirus deaths have been clear since early in the pandemic, with studies determining that age is by far the strongest predictor of an infected person’s risk of dying. 

Henrik Salje, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, UK, said ‘age cannot explain everything’, as gender is also said to be a strong risk factor – with men twice as likely to die from the virus than women.

Salje’s conclusions are supported by figures from the World Health Organization which said 1.7 percent of women who catch the virus will die compared to 2.8 percent of men, even though neither sex is more likely to catch it. 

Underlying health conditions and health issues, such as diabetes and obesity, also have a significant impact on how severe a case of COVID-19 might be. 

The CDC warned earlier this year that anyone considered ‘severely obese’ may raise risk of a severe reaction to COVID-19. 

Following his annual physical this year, Trump’s physician Dr. Sean Conley said Trump was 6 feet, 3 inches tall and 244 pounds.

Trump, who was 73 at the time, had gained one pound since his last examination in 2019. It also showed the president’s cholesterol level had slightly improved to 167 from 196 the year before. 

Officially, Trump’s height and weight would equate to a body mass index (BMI) of 30.4 – a fraction over the 30.0 level to be considered obese in the lowest of three tiers. 

His previous doctor, Ronny Jackson, said in 2018 that Trump’s ‘overall health is excellent [but] … he would benefit from a diet that is lower in fat and carbohydrates and from a routine exercise regiment.’ 

Trump, the oldest president to ever take office, doesn’t drink alcohol or smoke. However, he is known to enjoy fast food, steaks and ice cream, while golfing is his primary source of exercise.  

source: dailymail.co.uk