Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20201002

Can continue as a member of parliament for her constituents. New covid measures come into place tonight in the north of england meaning a quarter of the uks population will be living under tight restrictions good morning and welcome to bbc news. I am a need donald trump has said he and his wife, melania, have tested positive for coronavirus and have begun a period of quarantine. They were both tested after one of mr trumps most senior advisers, hope hicks, found out she had the virus. The white house doctor has said both the president and the first lady are well and that mr trump will continue to carry out his duties while he self isolates. President trump confirmed the news on twitter, saying that he and the first lady will begin our quarantine and Recovery Process immediately and that they will get through this together a short while ago, our north america editorjon sopel explained how President Trump could have contracted the virus its simultaneously astonishing that the president , who is so well protected, where testing happens so much, could have contracted the virus and also, not in the least bit surprising given the ambivalent attitude in the white house towards wearing face masks. You talk about this very close aide and confidante, hope hicks, having contracted it earlier in the week, there is a film of her and four other people walking to the marine one helicopter, that cramped helicopter that takes the president and those people from the white house to Andrews Air Force base, none of them are Wearing Masks. At all. And that underlines the problem, you can have all the protection you need but actually, if you havent got the masks mitigating it, that could be problematic and probably is how it spread. Donald trump is 74 years old. The last full medical report we had says that he was obese, those are two comorbidities that go with covid. That said, the physicians report i thought was upbeat in its assessment although its very early days, of course, it said he thinks the president should be able to continue his work uninterrupted while he recuperates. And so, no suggestion that the president needs to step aside and they need to invoke article 25 of the constitution, for the Vice President to temporarily take over but you know, where this leaves the campaign and small questions like that, who knows . The Prime Minister borisjohnson has just tweeted his reaction in the last few minutes, saying, you can see it on screen. Speaking very much from a place of knowledge, of course. Being hospitalised earlier this year, will remember, was in the intensive care unit, had to had help had to have help with his breathing. The indications we are getting from the president s doctor is that he and the first lady are well and continuing with duties. The duties that they can, inside the white house. Lets talk to scott lucas professor of american studies at the university of birmingham. A number of people saying they are not surprised that the president has caught this virus, the tone he said, his lack of social distancing, dislike of masks, are you among those who arent at all surprised by this . You know, im surprised he didnt get it months ago. We had other white house staff including the wife of his close adviser Stephen Miller who tested positive, including his white house valid, and you noted trump has flouted those restrictions that we have lived under in the uk, social distancing, mask wearing other measures to try and contain the virus. He now has got it and i think it raises and elevates that question around effectively his denial and downplaying of the virus but it also raises the question of how widely has this spread . He has other advisers with whom he is in daily conduct and the question about the Us Government function, let alone the questions of the campaign over the questions of the campaign over the next month, depending on how far this might have spread, that is the unknown as we try to prices this news. unknown as we try to prices this news. process unknown as we try to prices this news. Process this news. I suppose the immediate question is has he been in close contact with the Vice President , mike pence . If President Trump was to become ill and incapacitated, wasnt able to carry out the role of president of the United States, constitutionally, that would fall to the Vice President so presumably we will want to know very quickly for the situation is with mike pence. Absolutely right. Mike pence is technically head of the Coronavirus Task force, you would presume he is proving trump on developments, mike pence is campaigning along with the rest of the trump team to try and get a second term. You assume there might be interaction between the men on that level but let me add another one for you. Jared kushner, drum s son in law, is vital in terms of how the administration tries to project its foreign policy, hes been involved in for example, the agreement between israel, bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to try and the United Arab Emirates to try and establish relations, how much has trump interacted with him how in turn has interacted with others, the global stage . The one thing we can safely say is if trump is incapacitated, and my p, we are relatively safe with number three, the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, she is a democrat, and donald trump does not like her very much. Well, that would put the cat amongst the pigeons, so to speak, wouldnt it . And we are a long way from that yet. But lets talk about the Election Campaign. Where does this leave the campaign . The state m e nts this leave the campaign . The statements coming out of the white house are saying that the president is continuing with his duties, they are projecting an image of normality, so far as one can in the situation. But the fact remains this is farfrom normal situation. But the fact remains this is far from normal and we are four weeks out from the election and donald trump is not going to be able to do the things he would have been expecting to do or wanting to do. No, lets be honest, its disarray. The Tram Campaign may be counting on may be sympathy for donald trump which cant rally him as he lacks in the polls but donald trump is never really relied on sympathy. As we saw on tuesday night, Withjoe Biden, hes relied on being very aggressive, buoyant, the effect of this, let me take all three quickly, it takes donald trump of the campaign trailand it takes donald trump of the campaign trail and deprives him of his main tactic which is those large rallies that he can speak for an hour, 90 minutes, with no need to talk about social distancing or Wearing Masks. Second, it makes coronavirus the number one issue again with the Tram Campaign, trying to push it aside. The supreme court. Lets talk about the supposed culture wars with extremist and anarchist. Thirdly, it deprives the Trump Campaign of that disinformation tactic thatjoe biden is physically and mentally unfit to be president. Biden actually is in very Good Physical Health for a man of 77, he is in very good mental health, now the focus on health issues, turns back on donald trump, especially since we still do not know if he is a symptomatic or symptomatic with this virus. We havent heard from the Biden Campaign as yet, of course, its still the early hours of the morning but do we know if donald trump took a test before that debate earlier this week with joe a test before that debate earlier this week Withjoe Biden . 0bviously, they were socially distanced on the stage but did he take a test, do we know . Thats such a huge question, we dont. The line was everyone who is going to appear in that space including in ohio was going to be tested before they took part so was that in fact the case, the tests we re that in fact the case, the tests were administered to everybody . Did donald trump observed that protocol to ta ke donald trump observed that protocol to take a test, he has flouted protocol in the past to say the least. We honestly dont know. That being said, the idea thatjoe biden might be addressed, i would downplay that a bit just might be addressed, i would downplay that a bitjust because of his precautions, wearing a mask in any public space, although he did not wear a mask during the debate. There was a good deal of distance from tram. Ido was a good deal of distance from tram. I do think however, there are questions here because let me remind the viewers of how serious this is. When donald trump went back and insisted on reopening rallies after the first wave of the virus in june, at tulsa, oklahoma, and spoke in front of 7000 people, we had a situation for a leading gop politician robbie contracted the virus and died there. Heaven forbid that happens this time around. But yes, the fact this president has gone into public spaces with little precautions, not only on tuesday night at the debate but it raises real questions about how much this virus might have spread because of that behaviour. One final question before i let you go. On the issue of campaigning, youve outlined how this is going to affect the way donald trump likes to campaign. We have a situation you have a sitting president who is campaigning for election, they are not supposed to use the white house, federal property, for campaigning purposes, are they . How is he going to get around that, do you think . are they . How is he going to get around that, do you think . If donald trump is well enough, he will use these white house appearances that he makes almost every day, for he will go on for 30, 40, 45 minutes, i expect that to continue and i expect you will hear a lot from the White House Press secretary, effectively campaign official, despite being above all of that, and the big question, we have the second president ial debate which is two weeks away. If donald trump is still in self quarantine and if he is fit enough, will he actually used the white house make that debate appearance joe biden . Lots of questions. Thank you very much for joining us. Lets speak to our north america correspondent david willis david, good morning to you. I guess it isa david, good morning to you. I guess it is a reasonable assumption although we dont know exactly when oi although we dont know exactly when or where donald trump contracted the virus but a reasonable assumption it could be linked to his close aide, hope hicks, who tested positive and with whom he has been in close contact in recent days. Youre absolutely right. And of course this throws up the question of contact tracing, doesnt it . Both donald trump and hope hicks are known to have been in contact over the last week or so with a whole range of president ial advisers including Stephen Miller, members of the trump family including Jared Kushner and ivanka trump who both hold positions in the administration. Mitch mcconnell, the senate leader. Amy coney barrett, mr trump s nominee for the vacant seat in the us supreme court. So we just dont know how far this is all going to spread. It raises the question as well about joe biden, the Biden Campaign has not had anything to say on this issue thus far but we do know, of course, that donald trump and joe biden were in fairly close contact on tuesday night for that debate, the president ial debate in clevela nd. The president ial debate in cleveland. How close did they get behind the scenes, we just dont know. And it remains to be seen, we do know thatjoe biden is tested weekly. But with donald trump, it is equally uncertain, he is a 74 year old man, he is technically obese, and he is in a High Risk Group when it comes to the coronavirus and combating it. David, do we know if President Trump as well as joe do we know if President Trump as well asjoe biden took coronavirus tests before that debate earlier in the week . We dont know exactly but there was a time, at least, when donald trump was getting tested, and mike pence, every day. Now, hope hicks certainly, that is the close adviser who basically seemed to have said this ball rolling, if you like, as she was diagnosed earlier in the day, as she was tested, you know, on tuesday, and on wednesday, because she was travelling with the president on air force one. On both occasions the results came back negative, then there was a test on thursday. After she developed some symptoms. And she tested positive on that occasion. Then somewhat later, donald trump and the first lady confirmed they had tested positive for the coronavirus. But you know, if the president of the United States with access to the sort of testing and the regularity of testing and the regularity of testing that he is exposed to, get this virus, this potentially lethal virus, it really underlines how importantan virus, it really underlines how important an issue this is, when we got to the stage for more than 200 million americans have died from this virus and more than 7 Million People here have contracted it. But for the meantime, the news from the white house is that the president and the first lady are both well. We have this letter and the president s physician, take us through what doctor connolly says. I said 200 million, i meant 200,000 people have died from coronavirus. But youre right. According to the letter from the white house doctor, both print both President Trump and the first lady plan to remain at the white house bring their convalescence. At the very least this throws the president ial campaign up in the air. What is donald trump going to do . You cannot go out on the campaign trail which he loves to do, drawing big crowds, very often not socially distanced or Wearing Masks at all. So his options are very limited. And it raises questions about the next president ial debate which is only two weeks away from now. Very difficult to imagine a debate will ta ke difficult to imagine a debate will take place face to face is the one deadin take place face to face is the one dead in cleveland earlier this week. We may be looking at something much more zoom like, if you like, another indication of how the coronavirus has changed and turned this whole election on its head. It could be a very, very different sort of debate indeed. David, thank you. 0ur Political Correspondent leila nathoo is westminster good morning to you. Reaction from borisjohnson to all of this. I read out the tweet earlier, very much coming from a position of knowledge on this one. Yes, sending his best wishes for a speedy recovery to both the president and the first lady. But you know, borisjohnson, when he contracted coronavirus it was a com pletely contracted coronavirus it was a completely different stage of the pandemic, back towards the end of march when he revealed he had developed symptoms, hed had a temperature, a cough and he was getting tested. Obviously the testing situation back then was com pletely testing situation back then was completely different, he only got tested once he developed symptoms, he was isolating in the flat above number 11 downing st, cast your mind back, you might remember him posting videos on his social media feeds, reassuring people he was well and continuing with business. But then his situation did worsen pretty rapidly. He was admitted to hospital after about ten days or so and then after about ten days or so and then a few days later, going into intensive care and it ended up in the situation where the foreign secretary dominic raab deputised for him officially, when he was in intensive care and it did look at one point as if his situation was a bit touch and go. Of course that all seems a long time ago now, Boris Johnson has since made a recovery but you know he has talked himself about his weight being a factor in how badly he was affected by coronavirus. Hes talked openly about losing weight since then. So clearly, perhaps, some comparisons could be made there, he is younger than President Trump. But you know, it is worth remembering Boris Johnson was at the time the first world leader to contract coronavirus, very different stage in the pandemic, he was able to continue working initially but once he had been admitted to hospital, and he convalescence in chequers, i think it was, after he was released from hospital and then he was able to return to work gradually, obviously President Trump at the moment at a very different stage, not showing symptoms but perhaps it was tested because of the regularity of testing, tested a different a different of infection. Thank you. Im joined by chair of republicans overseas uk, sarah elliott. Thank you forjoining us this morning. As our Political Correspondent referred to come Boris Johnson went into hospital it was at a very different stage of the disease, he was obviously pretty u nwell disease, he was obviously pretty unwell at that point and President Trump, it seems, has been diagnosed pretty early and will naturally have the best medical care available. But he is 74. He is medically obese. What concerns do you have for his health . First of all, i wish him a fast recovery. I think hes actually in robust health, his doctors have come out and said as much. As you said, he has the best medical care in the world. I think he will recover. He is now going into quarantine with the first lady for ten days, so the campaign is coming toa ten days, so the campaign is coming to a halt. But then again, i think it will pick right back up where it left off. Things change so much now with four weeks to go until the actual election. Big questions over future president ial debates, obviously, Campaign Rallies and so on. What kind of daring do you think this is going to have on the election, especially as President Trump was trying to move attention away from the virus, i think its fairto away from the virus, i think its fair to say, he simply cannot do that now, can he . I dont think, he has taken the virus very seriously. I think his opponents like to say he downplays it and now he has a personal experience. Sarah, im sorry to interrupt you, he has been, absolutely not a proponent of social distancing or Wearing Masks, when he has bought masks its been very late in the day. So to say that he has taken it in the day. So to say that he has ta ken it really in the day. So to say that he has taken it really seriously as perhaps toa taken it really seriously as perhaps to a lot of people, strange comment. Well, he gets tested routinely, the people around him get tested routinely and he wears masks when he feels its necessary. He also is the leader of the country and he goes out and he meets with people, he has a tendency to lead by example and not hide in the basement and im sorry, he put himself at risk and now this is the situation we are in, he is asymptomatic. They said, im sure he will recover quickly. I do hope that the other people around him also get tested and are in quarantine as well. He is taking all the medical advice on board. You know, when this happens, and this happened to Boris Johnson, know, when this happens, and this happened to borisjohnson, he garnered a lot of sympathy. And so now, President Trump, as a personal experience and a connection to covid and the American People, you know, may look at him sympathetically and be like, wow, he can personally feel our pain. Do you think that is what is going to happen . In terms of people planning to vote for President Trump, considering whether they would vote for President Trump, do you think they will feel sympathetic towards him or will they say, here is a president who has been trying to project an image of business as normal during the pandemic, keen to keep the economy open and so forth . And now, he has actually caught this virus, this disease himself. I think actually, there will be sympathy from the American People because generally, the American People are kind hearted and they want to see the president of the country succeed. U nfortu nately, of the country succeed. Unfortunately, there are people on the left who are gleefully lashing in this and hoping the worst for the president but i dont think thats going to happen. You know, people write about the 25th amendment and pulled my pens take over . I think thats ridiculous and much too soon. I think he will recover, we will get back to normal but it is at a critical time. Everyday matters in campaign right now. It will be interesting to see the polling, but he is the comeback kid. He likes a challenge, he likes to prove people wrong and i think this is another challenge on which he will do so. You say talk of mike pence being there to take over is far too premature. But surely, the white house advisers will have thought about this possible scenario . And surely, its sensible to talk about this because if the president was to become ill and we are told at the moment that he is fine, doing well, if he was to become ill, dont the American People want to know whats going to happen . Because of our constitution we know what is going to happen and we do know the Vice President would take over in a situation like that. But it also brings upa situation like that. But it also brings up a really curious point about Vice President ial candidate and there might now be more scrutiny on Kamala Harris and her role and her possibility of her becoming president possibility maturely something happened to the president. This might have a negative effect on the Biden Campaign, harris is universally not popular across the country. We believe that discussion there. We will leave that discussion there. Thank you for your time today. Melissa mackenzie is publisher of the American Spectator magazine, in houston, texas and was planning to vote for donald trump in the president ial election. Good to have you with us today. Your thoughts on this developing story. Are you surprised president has the virus, given that many people closely associated with him, part of his team, have already tested positive, was it just his team, have already tested positive, was itjust a matter of time . Well, this is a wily virus and a lot of people who have been doing everything right have gotten sick. And the president is now one of those people. Every person who gets in contact with him and is tested, so in contact with him and is tested, so this actually is kind of remarkable that even with all of the testing, the people around him, he still managed somehow to get the virus. But this is a tricky virus. He isjust one more virus. But this is a tricky virus. He is just one more victim virus. But this is a tricky virus. He isjust one more victim of it. He hasnt been doing everything right though, has he . Hes been in large crowds without social distancing, without wearing a mask. These are the basic things we are told to do to try and protect ourselves from that virus. Well, it may look like he is close to people on these grounds but that mightjust be a trick of photography because hes not actually standing in close contact. Not actually standing in close co nta ct. If not actually standing in close contact. If you notice, at the rallies, is not shaking hands with people, hugging them, getting close. So hes been doing his part in these situations to state distance. Its just one of those things. Its a difficult virus. I think there were shots of him getting on board marine one with hot pigs and others in the last few days. All very close together. With hope hicks. None of them Wearing Masks. That is one example of where people had been close together without Wearing Masks, the president in their company. What do you think, melissa, what bearing do you think this will have on the remaining weeks of the Election Campaign . There is no question this is crunch time for the campaign. It will shift things. I think of fdr and his fireside chats, the American People will connect with the president in a different way. The president will now have the experience of so many people in america right now who are distanced and having zoom meetings and i suspect the president is going to find ways to connect with the American People in the same way the rest of the world is connecting. Via computer, google hang out, however it works. He will find a way. Melissa mckenzie, joining us from texas. Thank you very much for your time. Just one other story to bring you so far this morning. The mp Margaret Ferrier has been suspended from the Scottish National party after breaking coronavirus rules. Ms ferrier travelled to london to take part in a coronavirus debate in the house of commons, before returning to scotland by train after receiving a positive test. There are now calls for her to resign. Its time now for a look at the weather. Here is sarah keith lucas. Hello. Some pretty lively weather on the cards over the next couple of days. Storm alex bringing strong winds and heavy rain in the south, over the next few days many of us will see heavy rain, transport and travel disruption possible, some flooding expected over the next few days with some strong winds around. To date the strongest of the winds in association with storm alex will be in the south, particularly through the english channel, gusts around the Channel Islands of 70 miles an hourat around the Channel Islands of 70 miles an hour at times, heavy rain moving slowly northward through the midlands, into north wales later this afternoon, still heavy downpours in the south west, sunshine and scattered showers returning to the south east. A different date for the north, mostly dry sunshine, temperature is about 1215 , dry sunshine, temperature is about 12 15 , windy and showery towards the Northern Isles and through the ceiling and tonight, more rain packing in across much of england and wales, heavy and persistent for and wales, heavy and persistent for a time in the south. Heavy rain for parts of north east england and eastern scotland. Goodbye for now hello and welcome to our viewers watching in the uk and around the world. Donald trump has said he and his wife, melania, have coronavirus and have begun a period of quarantine. They were both tested after one of mr trumps most senior advisers, hope hicks, found out she had the virus. The white house doctor has said both the president and the first lady are well and that mr trump will continue to carry out his duties while he self isolates. President trump confirmed the news on twitter, saying that he and the first lady will begin our quarantine and Recovery Process immediately and that they will get through this together this is the scene live in washington dc, where its a little after 4. 30 in the morning. Well be getting reaction from there as the United States wakes up to the news that donald and Melania Trump have contracted coronavirus. A short while ago, our north america editor, jon sopel, explained how President Trump could have contracted the virus. Its simultaneously astonishing that the president , who is so well protected, where testing happens so much, could have contracted the virus and also, not in the least bit surprising given the ambivalent attitude in the white house towards wearing face masks. You talk about this very close aide and confidante, hope hicks, having contracted it earlier in the week, there is film of her and four other people walking to the marine one helicopter, that cramped helicopter that takes the president and those people from the white house to Andrews Air Force base, none of them are Wearing Masks. At all. And that underlines the problem, you can have all the protection you need but actually, if you havent got the masks mitigating it, that could be problematic and probably is how it spread. Donald trump is 74 years old. The last full medical report we had says that he was obese, those are two comorbidities that go with covid. That said, the physicians report i thought was upbeat in its assessment although its very early days, of course, because it said he thinks the president should be able to continue his work uninterrupted while he recuperates. And so, no suggestion that the president needs to step aside and they need to invoke article 25 of the constitution, for the Vice President to temporarily take over but you know, where this leaves the campaign and small questions like that, who knows . Before his positive test for covid, President Trump spoke to fox news about his close aide hope hicks own positive test. She did test positive, ijust heard about this, she tested positive. Shes a hard worker, a lot of masks, she wears masks a lot, but she tested positive. And i just went out with a test, ill see, you know, because we spend a lot of time, and the first ladyjust went out with a test also. First lady Melania Trump posted on twitter following the news that she and the us president had tested positive for she said. Vice president mike pence tweeted. World leaders have also been tweeting their reaction. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. The uks Prime Minister, borisjohnson, who himself contracted coronavirus earlier this year said he sends his best wishes to President Trump and the first lady. Professor Kimberly Nalder of california state university, director of the project for an informed electorate, joins us now. Thank you very much forjoining us today, your reaction to the news, surprised, not surprised . Its not surprising in terms of his exposure, and his lack of precautions in terms of the virus. If you think back to the convention that was held on the white house lawn, it was almost as if there was no covid going on, no one had masks, and that has been the case for many of his events. So its not surprising that he has it but it is still a shock because it has major implications for our election and for what happens in the country the next coming months. And for what happens in the country the next coming monthslj and for what happens in the country the next coming months. Ijust want to pick up on that right away. Because you referred to his appearance from the white house lawn, to the republic convention, but of course there was quite a lot of controversy around that, wasnt there, because the white house is a Federal Building and it is not supposed to be used for campaigning, so supposed to be used for campaigning, so how do you think the president is going to handle that given he cant campaign outand going to handle that given he cant campaign out and about in the next couple of weeks and the election is just four weeks away . You know, frankly, he flouts laws all the time, right . Especially when it comes to Something Like that act or several of the acts. So, he will be forced to do Campaign Events from the white house, but i think he is not going to suffer a lot of consequences, under these conditions. Do you think in the circumstances he should be allowed to . He probably will as you say but do you think there is an issue with that given that he has covid i9 . Do you think there is an issue with that given that he has covid 19 . think it seems reasonable, i dont think it seems reasonable, i dont think that he is going to be brought up think that he is going to be brought up on charges and taken to court over it, right . It is very understandable in fact it is advisable to do that instead of going out like he was planning to. And exposing more people to this virus. And what bearing do you think his contracting the virus is going to have on the vote, on these remaining few weeks . Frankly, how would it play out either if he remains well or if he was to become ill . Purely one of the things that isa main ill . Purely one of the things that is a main appeal that he has four people is is his kind of brush, combative, strong man style. And if he appears weak, if he appears sick and especially if he is intubated or if he is ona and especially if he is intubated or if he is on a ventilator, that sort of thing, that would really undercut that image of him, even if it is subconscious for people, that would bea subconscious for people, that would be a big concern for him if he did get especially sick. If hes well, i imagine that he will say, see, it is that not that big a deal and it will be that message that he has been pushing. Professor Kimberly Nalder, from california state university, thank you very much for your time today. Laurie laird is an american politics commentator and economistjournalist, shejoins me now. Thank you very much forjoining us. What is your reaction to this . We have had the president as an out and out, some would say, covid denier, he has been forced into Wearing Masks recently but it is not his natural way, to wear a mask or to socially distance, so what do you make of the fact that he now has the virus and how hes going to cope with it and the bearing it might have on the election . Well, i think like so many of your guests, this comes as a shock but not a surprise. We know that donald trump is not often Wearing Masks, and i was watching his nomination last weekend in the rose garden at the white house nobody had a mask on. It harked back to earlier, pre covid days, he didnt have a mask, judge barrett didnt have a mask, none of the assembled guests had a mask. We know donald trump doesnt like to wear a mask, we know he has mocked joe biden for wearing a mask. Question to his masculinity. So it isnt all that surprising. I think there are a couple of big questions, though. 0ne there are a couple of big questions, though. One is, how sick will donald trump get . Many of your guests have mentioned that he is a high risk area, he is clinically obese, he is over the age of 70, and it is ironic, donald trump has mocked joe biden for being so elderly, donald trump is only three years younger thanjoe trump is only three years younger than joe biden. Trump is only three years younger thanjoe biden. He is in a high risk area. We know that his covid was caught very quickly, he is probably one of the most tested men in the world. Could his condition deteriorate . That is a big question. The other question is, who has he beenin the other question is, who has he been in contact with . The president is in contact with so many people during the course of a day, economic advisers, National Security advisers, National Security advisers, campaign advisers. It is not impossible that so many aides from so many different places ultimately. And that could include people involved in the nomination process ofjudge barrett, people involved in coming up with a stimulus plan on the economic side. How widely spread through the west wing of the white house could coronavirus be . And what else do we know about Donald Trumps health and fitness. We know pictures of him playing golf, but what else do we know about how he is . There is so little transparency with this government and one of your correspondence referred to a letter put into the Public Domain by the president s position saying that he was in good health and they were isolating in the west wing, they are not needing hospital care at this moment, but i think many people, there has been so little transparency. Do you remember the letter from his personal transparency. Do you remember the letterfrom his personal doctor during the campaign in 2016 that we later learned had been dictated by donald trump, as personal doctors said, were donald trump to be elected, that he would be the fittest president in the history of the republic. So i think that people who tend to question donald trump may question the transparency about his state of health coming from trumps own people. And those who are his supporters, what impact before i let you go do you think it is going to have on them, will it make any difference to how they view the president . My instinct is absolutely not. I think Donald Trumps supporters are very true, they are fervent supporters, and they are fervent supporters, and they like their man regardless of what happens. I honestly do not think this has much bearing on the election. Certainly it could open up questions over the next debate which is scheduled for the 15th of 0ctober. Is scheduled for the 15th of october. I would is scheduled for the 15th of 0ctober. Iwould not is scheduled for the 15th of october. I would not be surprised if some of Donald Trumps communication tea m some of Donald Trumps Communication Team might be breathing a sigh of relief after the debate on tuesday where their man did not come up looking all that well. Good to have your thoughts today. With me now is lynn sweet the Washington Bureau chief for the Chicago Sun Times newspaper. The Washington Bureau chief good the Washington Bureau chief to have you with us a lets good to have you with us as well. Lets talk about the remaining weeks of the campaign, here you have a president and a man who is running to be re elected as president , so how is that Campaign Going to play out, given this positive coronavirus test . Well, i will give you a bit of an analysis. One big irony is that on friday, the main event that is on trumps schedule is a phone call with Senior Citizens who are vulnerable to getting covid. So, that will go down as one of the major ironies of at least the beginning of this. What may be the final chapter of the campaign. So, when you ask the impact, the most important thing we do not know right now is the symptoms of the president. We know that he has covid, we dont know how serious it is. And i think that will be key to whether or not he could make public appearances, not to travel, but if he could do things from the white house. My suspicion is that if he is asymptomatic, we go one round and we analyse the last campaign days. We have 32 days left. Early voting has started in much of the United States. But the big question now, two d e bates states. But the big question now, two debates left, the Vice President ial debate is next wednesday. There is a big clash between biden and the trump camp going into this weekend over the proposal by the Debate Commission to change the rules, given how trump overwhelmed and bullied his way through the debate this week. The need of the president to campaign before big crowds, it is a point of pride to him. If that is taken away from him, it takes a big tool out of his campaign toolbox. In that sense, it absolutely does not suit his style, his personality . Yes. And what we dont know is if he is versatile enough to figure out plan b, pro tem. Interestingly, the Biden Campaign, which had made a big virtue of a virtual campaigning, is now starting to do some door to door knocking in some of the swing states. So, what you have here is a turning point in the campaign, it might serve either side better strategically to leave it where it is, frees that point, and that potential of an unknown outcome in the debate. There is something to be said for that for both biden and trump. Ijust wonder, depending on whether the president remains, or is, asymptomatic, we dont know whether he has any symptoms or not, we are told he is well, so, whether he remains generally quite well or whether he becomes ill, how much of a bearing cut that have on things . Because all through the pandemic he has tried to project an image of being quite relaxed about what has been going on, keeping the economy open, not being incredibly bothered about whether there is social distancing happening, not being keen to wear a mask. So, distancing happening, not being keen to weara mask. So, if distancing happening, not being keen to wear a mask. So, if he was to become ill, then that could maybe start to change the way people think about him . 0r start to change the way people think about him . Or will his supporters remain absolutely true to him, do you think . The supporters stick with him, no matter what. And they go and vote in person. This might drive home a message that covid is real, you get it, social distancing helps. So for the undecided voters or for republicans who were going to hold their nose and vote for trump, this may depress, suppress, turnouts and votes for trump. So, the implications for him are very important and not well, for his chances of getting a second term. When i say this is a turning, it is a turning point towards a road unknown, possibly a ditch, as President Trumps campaign is upendedin President Trumps campaign is upended in its final days here. The president getting sick, and whether or not we know the degree that he is sick, is another thing. Will we see him today or tomorrow, how will we see him, what if he is coughing . What if we could spend the whole morning about that. . What if we could spend the whole morning about that. . Are the only thing we know for sure is that this isa game thing we know for sure is that this is a game changer. Lynn sweet, thank you very much for your thoughts today. A line coming in from the us secretary of state mike pompeo, who is in dubrovnik. He is saying that he and his wife were tested on the plane 20 minutes prior to landing into brother nick. He doesnt say what the result of that test was, but maybe. Yes, it is negative. We are told. Otherwise he would not have been getting off the plane. Us secretary of state mike pompeo and his wife tested 20 minutes prior to landing in dubrovnik. Lots of our guests today have been saying, who else has the president being in contact with . A large circle of people. So presumably, all of those individuals will be testing themselves now to find out whether or not they have the virus. Leslie vinjamuri is director of the us programme at the International Affairs think tank Chatham House here in london. Many people saying this morning that they are not entirely surprised by this news, what impact you think this news, what impact you think this will have on the remaining weeks of the election, because as well as the health and story, the health of an individual, who happens to be president of the United States, you have this election looming, which will have a huge bearing on not just looming, which will have a huge bearing on notjust the direction of america but on americass relationship with the rest of the world . Relationship with the rest of the world . Well, let mejust relationship with the rest of the world . Well, let me just say that i think all of us wish President Trump, the first lady, hope hicks, and all the many supporters of President Trump that have been in very close proximity to the president over the last two days, clearly, their health and the Public Health of americans and all of those who come close to the virus, is our utmost concern. I think the number one thing, to put this into context, is to remember that in the United States, approximately 208,000 americans have died of the pandemic. This is the number one issue for america, it is the number one issue in the election, it is the number one question for the next leader of the United States, is, how will they manage the great challenge, the Public Health challenge and the economic crisis that it has spawned . This is the number one issue in debates, on tuesday, and there are a lot of questions now not only for how this affects the campaign but for what signal it sends. The thing that we have looked for throughout the pandemic is leadership from central governments. And we know that in countries where leaders have been very committed to the Public Health response, where they articulated the importance of wearing a mask or social distancing, that those countries have performed better than countries that havent articulated that message. We havent seen that message coming from President Trump. He has been very ambivalent about the significance of the virus, he hasnt been clear on the virus, he hasnt been clear on the importance of Wearing Masks, and now it has come right to the white house and the president has covid. So, how does this play in terms of the american electorate . I think that Older Americans are a really interesting demographic to watch. 0lder interesting demographic to watch. Older americans have supported the president but over the last few months, many of them have actually begun to shift their support to Vice President biden. He is an appealing candidate for many moderate americans regardless of their party. He is also older, he has taken the pandemic incredibly seriously, he has a plan if he is elected president for how to respond to the virus on a national, coordinated level. He has a plan for restoring the health of the economy. Soi restoring the health of the economy. So i think we will see older voters who are on the fence and concerned about their own health begin to move their motocross. 0f about their own health begin to move their motocross. Of course it depends. Do you think actually that this has the potential to influence enough people . Because weve heard in this campaign so far that there is a very strong block of trump voters who are not changing their mind, a strong block of democrat voters who are not changing their mind, and it seemed as though really in terms of percentages there we re very really in terms of percentages there were very few voters in play who might be persuadable one way or the other, so, are you saying that this positive test for the president has the potential to do that . Well, i think that youre right, 90 of americans have already decided who they will vote for. So, firstly, there are still some undecided voters, and this could have an impact, depending on how gravely it is affected. And it is all of those people that the president met with in person on thursday at a fundraiser in newjersey, inside, indoors, presumably without facemasks. There are a lot of people whose health is now potentially at risk. Its very, very serious. Its a very serious finding. Im afraid we must leave it there, but Leslie Vinjamuri from Chatham House, thank you very much for your time. Thomas scotto is professor of politics at the university of glasgow and joins me from there. Picking up on what Leslie Vinjamuri from Chatham House was saying, do you think this personal health event for the president , which has huge public significance, could change anything in this election . |j public significance, could change anything in this election . I think only, to be very honest, the very smallest of margins. I am amazed and i think we continually have to go back to trumps Approval Rating with the American Public going back his entire presidency, and the interesting thing that people overlook is how stable it is. Youre looking at record low numbers of vote rs looking at record low numbers of voters at this stage in the campaign saying that they are undecided. Sol think, yes, at the margins it may help or hinder the president but the reality is that ideas about President Trump, whether you like him or hate him, are pretty hard baked among the American Public and voting has already begun. And with this particular president , it seems like all bets are off and have a lwa ys like all bets are off and have always been off. He has got through other controversies and scandals that many other politicians simply would not have . Yes, so, if people are believing that this diagnosis means that the flaw of support is going to fall out from beneath him, i doubt that. I think his supporters will stick with him and they welsh rugged this off and it may even be a source of strength and he may be able to say, particularly if it is a mild case, and we dont want to speculate, but if it is a mild case, he may come back and say, well, i just had it, i lost my sense of smell, or something, and i am back on the golf course in three days, why did we shutdown on the golf course in three days, why did we shut down the economy . Dyou think, then, the remaining weeks of this Campaign Good really become an online campaign, that this could be the online election, its remaining weeks . Well, to a large extent i think it already is. This frustrates the president in that he loves holding rallies but it also gives him the ability to hold court, if it isa gives him the ability to hold court, if it is a mild case, from the white house, which makes him look a bit more president ial, so it could work to his favour. Much as democrats criticised him earlier on for holding Campaign Type events in the white house, now he basically has an excuse because he can say he is quarantining but he has to be able to talk to the American People. So that could work for him. But again were talking 4 to 5 of people i think who might be influenced by this news. Its shocking because we continue to have these big events that in normal times would really shift approval, but itjust doesnt, with this president. Professor thomas scotto, we are out of time but thank you very much. 0ur Business Correspondent Katie Prescott is here. What impact do you think this will have on the markets . 0ne investment manager said this morning that there was just nothing about this in the manual. How on earth are you supposed to deal with the president of the worlds biggest economy getting ill with Something Like this . And i think that is what we are seeing reflected in the market numbers this morning. Two of americas biggest stock market is down about 2 , so not a huge panic but certainly some investor concern. Here in europe stock markets are down by about 1 and that is because investors are feeling so uncertain about exactly what this means, how ill is President Trump and what could this mean for the outcome of the election . Corporate think perhaps that if it means a biden win, taxes could rise and that could be difficult for them. That is why i think we are seeing investors pulling out of stock markets, a finished stabilised but no matter panic. Thank you very much for something that up for us. We will continue with more on this news that President Trump and his wife has tested positive for coronavirus. Have a mac. Today we have got storm alex in the south but as we head into the weekend we are all going to see some heavy rainfall at times and there is a chance that there could be disruption to travel and transport and some flooding is possible as well as strong winds, Strong Enough to bring down the odd small tree. Storm alex today is mainly affecting the southern half of the uk. The strongest wins associated with this storm are across the north west of france. We could get gusts of up to 60mph along the south coast. 70mph down towards the Channel Islands. An area of heavy rain moving northwards into the midlands and north wales, followed by brighter skies and scattered showers. It is a very different day for the northern half of the uk. It was quite a cold start, with some fog, one or two showers, but for much of this area, you should stay predominately dry with some sunshine. That rain just edging into Northern England later on this afternoon. Temperatures today, 12 15, feeling colder with the wind in the rain in the south. This evening and overnight, more rain coming in on a brisk easterly breeze. For western scotland and northern ireland, clearer skies, and it is here that the temperatures will fall lowest overnight. Further to the south and east, it will be a mild, wetand to the south and east, it will be a mild, wet and windy start on saturday. And that is how it looks through the day. Lots more heavy rain tracking westwards. Combined with gales or severe gales down towards the south west. There could be some flooding issues. It will brighten up towards the south east. Northern ireland, mostly dry on saturday. 0n northern ireland, mostly dry on saturday. On sunday, low pressure sits right across the British Isles and we will see heavy showers rotating around that area of low pressure. Gales, particularly around the reverie of the uk. And it will bea the reverie of the uk. And it will be a day of sunshine and blustery showers. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Us President Donald Trump and the first lady melania test positive for coronavirus and go into quarantine. Announcing the test results on twitter the president says he and the first lady will get through this together it comes after his one of his closest aides hope hicks tested positive for coronavirus the pair have taken several trips together in the past week World Markets slump on the news with the dow futures index down due to uncertainty about the operation of the Us Administration well be looking at what all this means for the Election Campaign as the president is confined to the white house