Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom 20201002

Positive on wednesday night after traveling with the president earlier that day to the minnesota rally and cleveland on tuesday the day before. In spitd in spite of that, the president went ahead with his public schedule yesterday including attending an evening fundraiser in new jersey. And with less than five weeks until election day, the president s diagnosis is throwing even more uncertainty into an unprecedented campaign. Former Vice President joe biden wishing the 2020 rival a speedy recovery days after the two squared off in a contentious and raucous debate. Bidens physician announcing that biden and wife jill tested negative. On capitol hill, republican senator mike lee announced he has tested positive just days after visiting the white house and meeting with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. A white house Spokesman Says that barrett whos tested every day is currently negative. Lets get the very latest from the white house where the president and first lady are isolating and jim acosta is covering this story. And the president is experiencing symptoms, jim . Reporter thats right. The president according to a white house official including the chief of staff is experiencing mild symptoms from the coronavirus and the first lady. We are told by the first ladys office that baron trump tested negative for the virus but thrown the white house into a tails tailspin at the moment. We talked to the chief of staff this morning trying to inseattle seahawks that the president is doing well and on the phone talking to various white house staffers. The president and the first lady tested positive for covid19. They remain in good spirits. The president does have mild sim symptoms. Reporter the chief of staff there saying that the president is experiencing mild symptoms but he was not able to chair a con ference call to lead on vulnerable seniors and coronavirus but Vice President mike pence who tested negative for the coronavirus leading that phone call. We are seeing what the Vice President had to say and we understand he told people on the phone the president would not be on the call because he has the coronavirus. Meantime what we understand is that white house officials are conducting Contact Tracing to try to get to the bottom of exactly who the president and hope hicks who they have been around over the last several days and we have a graphic of how many various people the president has been around over this past week, keep in mind he had that event on saturday in the rose garden announcing the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. Senator mike lee who was there for that event since tested positive for the coronavirus. So were trying to isolate when all of this might have started happening because we dont have an exact time line. Mark meadows was telling us that they discovered hope hicks tested positive for coronavirus as they were leaving for the events up in new jersey yesterday but that doesnt exactly distill for us, you know, precisely when all of this might have been passed from one person to another. The other thing to point out, it is shocking to this watch this morning, various senior white house officials Walking Around without a mask. We saw dr. Scott atlas earlier this morning, the controversial member of the Coronavirus Task force, whos been flirting with this idea of herd immunity and talking down the idea that young people can catch the coronavirus and so on, he was on the campus grounds this morning not wearing a mask, smiling and talking to people. I saw a senior white house official over here walk past me to get the covid test not wearing a mask. Walked into the area of the west wing where the press secretary has her office. There were various white house staffers there not wearing the masks this morning and a thing that we experience here at the white house is just sort of dumbfounded disbelief that even after the president of the United States tests positive for the coronavirus some people havent gotten the memo how serious this situation is. Im putting my mask back on and other members of the press and white house staffers in some cases are not doing that. Yeah. It is it defies common sense for sure. Jim acosta, thank you so much for that update from the white house. We learned democratic nominee joe biden tested negative for coronavirus. Jessica dean is in grand rapids where biden is expected to campaign this afternoon. President trump when he was likely con ttagious shared a debate stage with the former Vice President. Hows the campaign reacting and mobilizing to monitor bidens health . Reporter right. So there was a memo this morning from the Campaign Manager that said that the campaign is to the staff saying that the campaign is doing everything it can to make sure that everyone is as safe as possible. We got the negative test results for joe and jill biden, administered the pcr test, the Gold Standard of tests. The results are very good in terms of their accuracy. He was scheduled to be here in grand rapids, michigan, starting 1 1 20 eastern time and wont be making it here on time and told that he will travel here to michigan after the delay this morning, waiting on the test results and that he will give remarks, expecting later today, this afternoon. If you zoom out kind of big picture, the coronavirus and the president s response to the pandemic and his lack of response to the pandemic has been the central theme of the biden candidacy and the Biden Campaign has drawn contrasts at every turn. Back in march they called off all major rallies. He really did only Virtual Events for a long time and only resumed major travel since labor day. With him going to the battleground states and we heard yesterday from the campaign that they had planned after months of staying away from it, planned to go for inperson canvassing in the battleground states with volunteers door to door and reaching people hard to reach over the phone and online and they said they had Great Success there and felt like they could be safe and reach the people to reach before election day. And all indications are that that is all moving ahead, especially as we see Vice President biden traveling here to michigan today and continuing forward with the plans that he has in place. Brianna . All right. Jessica, following it all for us from michigan, thank you. We did just hear that the president is suffering mild symptoms from coronavirus. Several hours after announcing that he has covid19. I want to bring in cnns senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen. Elizabeth, the president has risk factors here. Several. That could make him a candidate of more severe symptoms. Thats right. He is in a much higher risk category than most americans. Having said that, i will say the numbers tell us that chances are thank goodness he will be okay. He will recover just fine from this. However, he is at higher risk than most other people. First of all, he is obese and that triples the risk of hospitalization. Also, hes 74. People in the 60 to 74yearold age range a five times greater risk of hospitalization and a man and men tends to be more likely to get very sick or die than women do and he is treated for high close roholesterol. But again, to emphasize, the numbers tell us he is most likely going to get through this just fine. Brianna . Which is very good news. Thank you so much, elizabeth cohen. Dr. Matthew is a primary care physician, a Public Health specialist. Thank you so much for being with us. We are hearing from the white house chief of staff meadows a description of the president as having symptoms that are mild. What does that mean considering the timeline for his announcement of his diagnosis and what does that mean if anything for the longer term . Can we tell anything from that . Yeah. Those are good questions. When youre exposed to covid19, on average it takes about five days before you actually develop symptoms but remember the incubation period from the time youre exposed to when you develop symptoms can be as long as 14 days so if the president tested positive this morning and he has mild symptoms, you have to also remember that you are more symptomatic almost two days before you actually test positive. So a lot to digest and i think the most important thing is the Contact Tracing that we have been talking to about to make sure that people that he has exposed to should be traced and quarantined. Yeah. There are a lot of them. Right . There is testing going on at the white house. What are the options for early treatment . Theres been talk about remdesivir as an early intervention. Theres been a lot of talk about how steroids can be helpful in treating. At what point would a decision like that be made and how would a doctor be treating the doctor in the early stages . Right. So if you really look at the numbers game, 80 of people actually do well. And they have mild symptoms. A runny nose, a sore throat, mild fever and chills, basically we call that simp matting treatment, not necessarily a specific treatment like an antiviral or an antibiotic. If the president falls into the category to progress and now becomes hypoxic, thats when we talk more about a possible hospital admission and god forbid if he gets into the icu and then we talk about remdesivir and possibly another drug which we have come a long way in treating the really sick patients with those two drugs. And so thats the point where those drugs come in is later is what youre saying, right . Right now its monitoring and see where this naturally takes him. Which direction. We know the white house doctor is using the abbott labs rapid test and these are about 85 reliable even though theyre very quick which is why theyre convenient. Would you expect that aides are now getting a different, more reliable test in light of the president s infection . So you know, the testing, the rapid test you just mentioned is about 85 to 90 accurate and the pcr test looking at a genetic material, the rapid test looks at the antigen or a viral protein. The pcr are up in the 97 but the advantage of the rapid test is come back fairly quickly. Quick thing, also, about the testing is we need to understand that from the time youve been exposed to somebody with covid19 it could take you like i said five to 14 days so if you get tested early a lot of people are panicking hearing about President Trump turning positive and people have been in close contact with him want to get tested but if it is negative today like three days later, the bidens test, that came back negative today, technically you should wait five to seven days for a more accurate testing because you could be negative today and be positive three days from now. So no one should be when we talk about for instance mark meadows with exposure to the president saying i have a negative test, essentially he is commune catting also im socially distanced and i have nothing to worry about . Thats not really the case . But im testing negative, at the white house because ive been testing negative cant hang the hats on that . Thats exactly right. If theres one thing to take from the conversation today is that a negative test doesnt give you the signal to go out there and take your mask off. What a negative test should reassure you is that theres an 80 to 90 chance im negative now and if i meet people and be in close proximity, i need to wear a mask and be six feet away from most people as best as i can. The president shortly before announcing the positive test traveled and held an indoor fundraiser even knowing that a close aide had coronavirus. What is your assessment of that action . Thats very dangerous. It goes without saying that if you just follow the signs, if you know that a close aide of yours tested positive, in my opinion, as a physician that entire event should have been canceled and people need to be quarantined. Theres a difference between using the word quarantine and people exposed and isolated like the trumps are currently because they tested positive and i would have canceled that event to be more cautious because there are so many people that are involved now in this web and con taktact tracing is going to be a nightmare but you have to do it so you dont cause a surge inside and outside the white house. Yeah. I think we are already starting to see that. The chief of staff indicated that he expects there to be more. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you. So what does this uncertainty mean for the election, for National Security . Carl baeernstein and gloria borr will join me for those questions. And well look at the continuity plans. New reaction of capitol hill where a republican senator tests positive after visiting the white house and meeting with the president s scotus pick Amy Coney Barrett. Say nana. Stop your cough from interrupting, with dq cough and congestion. 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It never bothered me. Until i found out what it actually was. Dust mite droppings . Ewww. Dead skin cells . Gross so now, i grab my swiffer heavy duty sweeper and dusters. Dusters extends to 6 feet to reach way up high. To grab, trap and lock away gross dust. Nice for dust on my floors, i switch to sweeper. The heavy duty cloths reach deep in grooves to grab, trap and lock dust bunnies. No matter where they hide. No more heebie jeebies. Phhhhew. Glad i stopped cleaning and started swiffering. We are learning of some breaking news. Two additional cases of covid19 at the white house. One is a journalist. One is a press staffer. I want to get some more information now from cnns brian stelter. What can you tell us . Who is this . Who have they come in contact with . Right. We dont know the names of these individuals but this is further evidence of a white house outbreak of the coronavirus. Not just the president and the first lady but also others at the white house complex. This is an internal memo from the White House Correspondents Association that say that is theres one journalist preliminarily tested positive and a white house staffer who sits in the press area who works with journalists who has received a confirmed positive result. I fear, this is the beginning of something much bugger but the other journalists tested today tested negative. Throughout this pandemic, the White House Correspondents Association and members of the media taking more precautions and this reaffirms this point saying make sure if you dont have to work at the white house dont work at the white house right now. Quote, we cannot stress enough the importance of mask wearing, social distancing and common sense at the white house complex. Brian, i used to cover the white house. One of the things that people are surprised is how close the quarters are. Not just for the reporters. We are talking about very small areas that make it very difficult to socially distance and you have to take as many precautions as possible and i talk about the press offices. There are people sitting there chock a block at desks. Like a classroom feel. Definitely. Thats why it was a mistake for Kayleigh Mcenany to hold a press conference yesterday. Would we know right now if news did not leak . Theres murkiness about that. The fact that theres a white house staffer who sits with the press whos a confirmed positive, this speaks to how many other cases there might be and theres privacy issues here but might be other cases of the white house right now. All right. Brian stelter, thank you so much for the news j. Will the infection change the president s mindset on the coronavirus . Well discuss. New reporting that the trump family refused requests to wear masks at the debate the other night. Ate cart pusher. The different positions ive had taught me how to be there for others. 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Thats it. I opted in. I opted in. You can, too. Opt in and save big today. You can, too. The president s positive covid test throws more chaos into an administration that has failed the public time and again coming to coronavirus. He repeatedly downplayed the massive pandemic, openly mocked measures like Wearing Masks which have proven to help slow the spread. I want to bring in Gloria Borger to talk about this. Here we are. We have a month before the election. How does this affect this time period . Completely up ends the election and what it does is highlights the issue of covid, the issue the president wanted to avoid at all costs and brings up issues of his recklessness, the negligence of his administration, his willingness to put the campaign above the health and safety of the people who work for him, of the people that donate to his campaign, and really, above the duties of his office because it is his duty to make sure that he stays safe and did not do that. No, he certainly did not. And the fallout from the recklessness of the president s response to coronavirus has come knocking at his door. He has become a number that he has constantly downplayed. Right, right. He has become a number and we should all hope that he has a mild case of coronavirus but this is a president who was saying, you know, we have turned the corner, coronavirus is in the past. And now we know he is exhibit a inside the white house of all place that is coronavirus is not a thing of the past and ask tony fauci or deborah birx or bob redfield, the science advisers the president doesnt like and criticized if they believe this is inevitable given the fact that this is a president that even during the debate made fun of joe biden for adhering to a mask rule and we even though that at that debate the president s own family decided they would not wear masks during the debate. Thats right. I just want to say we have information just in, gloria, that the president s scotus pick Amy Coney Barrett diagnosed with coronavirus this summer and recovered, according to three sources. Her husband was also infected and recovered. That is that is good news because this was someone who had spent a lot of time clearly exposed to the president and then went to capitol hill and was talking with a lot of different senators and also seen her not practicing social distancing or wearing a mask taking a photo in the meeting with mike lee who tested positive and this is very good news. We have to start really asking questions about when she was introduced to the American Public by the president of the United States at that event in the rose garden i believe it was because now you have the president of noter dame and mike lee at that event who have been diagnosed with covid so i think the question has to be asked and im sure people who are doing the Contact Tracing doing are saying are people exposed at that event . Was the president . Was hope hicks exposed at that event . You have to look at that. This also provides a picture of how difficult all this tracing really is when youre talking about the president of the United States, the people hes come into contact with, he went after they knew about hope hicks, for example, he went and did a fundraiser in new jersey. What about those people . If im a big funder of donald trump i think i might be a tad angry today about that. So the circle grows wider and wider and theres a lot of work to do because we dont know who gave the virus to whom and how it got started but we do know that it is in a very dangerous place right now and that is inside the white house. And those donors not Wearing Masks and tested so the idea being that they would have been the president would have been protected against catching the coronavirus maybe more so from them if they were tested insofar as you can take a negative test to the bank all the time but thats not the coronavirus doesnt distinguish. Doesnt care if youre president , right . Just to reiterate what you said, the president of notre dame also tested positive and he had attended the Supreme Court announcement at the white house last week. He was criticized for not wearing a mask around other people and this brings up this question about whether this Supreme Court event was a super spreader, certainly as you said. I guess a big question would be hows this all going to affect the president s mindset coming to just confronting reality. He shouldnt be able to ignore it. Honestly, it is hard to predict what the president of the United States is going to do in any circumstance but i think this really depends on how severe or mild his covid is. And i dont know how its going to affect his outlook or how hes going to Start Talking about masks or whether hes going to require people inside the white house to finally wear masks. Today i watched the white house chief of staff have a little pull aside with reporters and even today he was not wearing a mask. And they all say gloria, he said, i got a negative test. I had a doctor on saying the incubation period can be from two to 14 days, averaging 5 to 7 days but whenever they had last exposure to President Trump while positive they have to keep getting tests during that period of incubation to make sure. A negative test now today doesnt mean they couldnt have a positive one the next day or the next. Tomorrow. False seasonse of security. Theyre not fine because the president of the United States has covid so we know that these instant tests dont always tell you what will happen that a afternoon or what will happen tomorrow. Or five to seven days from now. What you can do is you can wear a mask. And so you have a president who has been out there making fun of his opponent and saying you dont need it and saying that covid is in the Rearview Mirror and we all know it is not so when i say its up ended the campaign, it has. Tests are not a prophylactic. Social distancing and masks are. Thank you. Mike lee testing positive after hugging people at the Supreme Court event last week. Without a mask. Plus the spotlight on the contin continuity of government is brighter than ever in perhaps the biggest president ial health risk since Ronald Reagan was shot. 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With Medicare Advantage plans designed to surround you with the care you need every day. Aetna Medicare Advantage plans. Latonight, silence it with newd byzzzquil night pain. Because pain should never get in the way of a restful nights sleep. New zzzquil night pain. Silence pain, sleep soundly. Now to capitol hill where lawmakers are not only responding to news that the president has covid19 but also news that a senator who spent time with the president has also tested positive. I want to go to Cnns Phil Mattingly on the hill. You have this stretch into senate because senator mike lee and the other issue of the treasury secretary mnuchin having met with Speaker Pelosi and leader mcconnell and questions of who might have been further exposed to them. Reporter it wasnt just this saturday sermon at the white house in the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett and the negotiations but also the air force one trip to duluth, minnesota, that republican members of the delegation went on. What the last 15 hours have demonstrated more so than the course of the last 5 or 6 months for people here on capitol hill is now interconnected the white house is with congress. It is something that over the course of the period of time in the pandemic everybody tried to keep thedistance, masking and the white house continued toen vit pl invite republicans to events travel with the president and then the treasury secretary that met with President Trump and then was here on capitol hill meeting for 90 minutes with the speaker of the house and then walked over to the office of Mitch Mcconnell and met with him and you understand and im not sure if people are lax or complacent, Steve Mnuchin wears a mask and the speaker of house and Mitch Mcconnell but something progressed that people are mingling, coming together, closer than they have been and leads to Serious Problems not just because mike lee obviously who tested positive today with a statement was there at the white house on saturday, met face with face with Amy Coney Barrett on tuesday, at multiple Senate Judiciary hearings and markups over the week, at the lunches keeping social distance but eating and take the masks off and theres no Contact Tracing regime in place on capitol hill and whats been amazing in both talking to lawmakers and aides, some panicked last night is not sure of the scope and scale of this an enwho talked to, whos been with who and then traveling by airplane and you recognize that theres a very real potential issue here if things get out of hand and heard members talking about the fact that a testing regime needs to be put in place here. Leaders have rejected that but perhaps now is the moment and talking to house somebodies walking out people are pissed to be blunt and people want changes and hearings with Amy Coney Barrett scheduled still to start october 12. They should be pissed. Should be. Phil, thank you very much. The president s positive test amounts to the most serious known Health Threat to a sitting american president in decades. At least since 1981 when president Ronald Reagan was shot. There are no indications right now that President Trump is making any plans in case he takes a turn for the worse. His doctor said that he expects the president to carry out the duties but what does happen if the president needs to go into the hospital . Could need a ventilator. Many americans have. Needs intensive care like so many coronavirus patients who are of his age and have his health profile. I want to bring in contributor garrett graph to talk about this. He has a book raven rock about what he calls the hidden architecture in existence to ensure the continuity of government and president ial succession. What does happen if the president becomes so sick that he cannot execute his duties of the office . The good news, of course, i want to say as what everyone else is saying is that we hope the president stays as healthy as he can be. Yes. The good news is that an illness by the president even in the capacity of the president is actually not a big unknown question in the u. S. Constitution. The 25th amendment lays out a very clear set of processes that would allow the president if he is well enough to officially transfer power to do so to the Vice President as well as for the Vice President to seize power officially in the event that the president issed sudde talk taken ill and happens in medical procedures. Vice president cheney twice assumed the official powers of the presidency while george w. Bush was sedated for colonoscopies in his presidency and something that we have a very good system for protecting, the challenge is we dont actually have any system for replacing a Vice President if a Vice President is made incapacitated by illness. Okay. So explain that because right now and such good new that s th Vice President and his wife tested negative and you cant say im totally free and clear because there is this issue of the incubation period and in order to ensure that he is negative is actually negative hell have to continue to be tested and have those negative tests during this entire potential incubation period. What happens if beyond the Vice President , say, where does the speaker come in . What is the next step . Yeah. So this is where you get into very fraught and very problematic scenarios. The first is the 25th amendment in the constitution gives no procedure for replacing or cutting out of the line of succession an incapacitated Vice President and what Vice President cheney did, he has a long history of heart problems coming into that office in 2001, he left a signed letter of resignation to be given to president bush in the event that something happened and he was taken ill or incapacitated. Because thats and so, you know, theres an interesting question now, has mike pence left a similar letter with someone in the white house in the event that something happens to him right now . Who would replace him . This is where you get into the second level of problems which is the normal president ial line of succession holds that the it would go to the speaker of the house nancy pelosi. There is an open question among constitutional and president ial scholars whether that line of succession is actually constitutional. And whether secretary of state mike pompeo would be able to challenge that awe sumpssumptio power in thesomething happens a speaker of the house is calls into the presidency and a challenging question, very quickly, if something happens to the Vice President. All right. G garrett, thank you so much. As the president confronts his coronavirus diagnosis, there is no reaction from the Trump Campaign. Well have that coming up. That, do i . t havt harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line. Crest gum detoxify works below the gum line to neutralize harmful plaque bacteria and help reverse early gum damage. Crest. Makes a statement about who we are. With masterfully crafted details, and inspiring performance, the lexus es doesnt just play the part, it steals the show. The lexus es, crafted for those who own the spotlight; now available with allwheel drive. Experience amazing, at your lexus dealer. Now available with allwheel drive. Just between us, cleaning with a mop and bucket is such a hassle. Well i switched to swiffer wet jet and its awesome. Its an allinone that absorbs dirt and grime deep inside. And it helps prevent streaks and haze. Stop cleaning. Start swiffering what does it mean that the president is experiencing mild symptoms . Can you tell did he get a followup cpr test . Im not going to get into what kind of test. Within an hour, we put out that information the american people. What were those symptoms . Im not going to get into the president s symptoms exactly. But hes hard at work. Hes been on the phone with senator mcconnell, lindsey graham, chief of staff, mark meadows talking about emergency declarations for states as well as stimulus. So, hes hard at work, despite mild symptoms. The chief of staff learned hope hicks tested positive before the president departed for bed minister. Why would he still go . He socially distanced. It was outdoor and deemed safe by white house operations. When did the president first start feeling unwell . Ive seen inaccurate reporting. I encourage you to ask the question before you report. I did. Not you but others who recorded it falsely. I have no knowledge of hicks positive test. Will you be Wearing Masks from now on indoors . He was in air force one and that fund razor. Who made that assessment . White house operations made it a was safe for consultation and with others. All right. Many questions left unanswered as kaley mackenaniy walks away. She said she wouldnt get into the kind of tests he had. She wouldnt get into the symptoms he had, although theyre mild and he has been working the phones talking to congressional leaders and his chief of staff. She said it was deemed to be safe for the president to go to the new jersey fundraiser. She said it was an outdoor event. It was an indoor event, i believe. I am pretty clear about that, the fundraiser was an indoor event. The outdoor event was the rally the day before. Which begs the question on what the timing was of knowing when the president may have been at risk. She said white house operations made this assessment and she did say that when she briefed reporters yesterday she had had no knowledge of hope hicks positive test before that briefing. There had been a question raised whether she, without wearing a mask, had been briefing reporters, knowing she had been exposed to somebody positive to coronavirus. She was saying she did not know that. The Trump Campaign put out a statement as well, which raises a lot of questions. It says all previously announced Campaign Events involving the president s participation are in the process of being moved to virtual or temporarily postponed. In addition, previously announced events involving members of the first family are also being temporarily postponed. All others will be considered on a casebycase basis and well make relevant announcements in the days ahead. Says Vice President mike pence, who has tested negative, is to presume his events. Couple things there that we need talk about. The one being this admission of members of the first family not going to be participating at inperson events. Many were at the debate. His daughter, eric trump jr. , don jr. s girlfriend has already had covid and tiffany trump, the president s daughter as well. All exposed, as well as the first lady, who is currently in isolation. Internal medicine and viral specialist to join me. I want to ask you a question about i have a couple about what kaley mackenany just said that she plans to resume scheduled inperson Campaign Events, if appears. He may have had exposure to the president , right . And you have to be very careful about this when it comes to what the incubation period would be. You could have a negative test today and you have to pea conservative in making sure you continue to test through an incubation period. The president may have been contagious contagious for the last two weeks. So, anybody who came in contact with him during that period is potentially infectious. Because the Vice President had one negative test, does not mean he is in the clear. Youre absolutely right. He needs to be tested on a regular basis and i would recommend and i think any other doctor would, that he completely quarantine himself and not be around people for the next 14 days. Now, he has the luxury to be tested on a daily basis but that doesnt mean he doesnt have virus. It just takes a certain amount of virus for a test to become positive. He should not be meeting with people during these 14 days. And kaley at work not wearing a mask . I mean, i assume shes also had a negative test but same thing there . Of course its the same thing there. Listen, one of the problems with this administration is they are giving people, just by what they present, wrong and dangerous information. It is very i mean, are we surprised this has turned into a superspreader event . No. People need take this seriously. Thats one of my concerns is, first of all, people need to learn this virus is not a hoax. People need learn it isnt that nobody can get it. Its that everybody and anybody can get it. And we need to know that it is Wearing Masks, social distancing, and washing your hands apply to everybody at every time. So, yes, she should have been wearing a mask. I want to ask you about the first lady because we know shes in isolation with the president. She has tested positive with coronavirus. I think the first thing that comes to mind for a lot of folks is in 2018 she was hospitalized for what the white house described as a benign kidney procedure but there were questions, because of the length of her hospitalization about, could that create some sort of risk factor for her . Is that something that would concern a physician . Sure. First of all, we dont know the accuracy or the truth of what is her medical history. And i also dont want to give the false sense of security that only people that are elderly or sick can die or get very ill from the coronavirus. It can be anybody. But obviously, if you have an underlying illness that suppresses your immune system or making your body weaker, youre more susceptible to getting something critically ill from this. The president was in the hospital or rushed to the hospital last november. We still dont know what that was about. That along with his age, his ov ov overweightness is probably contributing to. And even after the white house chief of staff said President Trump has mild symptoms. What i know right now to be true is hes asymptomatic right now and i think thats great. I think we have to remember that hes in great physical health otherwise. He doesnt have the comorbidity that several of your guests have had. He is not asymptomatic. No. He currently is not asymptomatic. And i dont know their definition of mild symptoms. I think we need take everything told to us with a grain of salt. He is not asymptomatic. The next few days is going to tell the story about whether this evolves to something more serious, including pneumonia, neurological issues or whether he is going to be towards the milder spectrum of these cases. So, again, i dont know what mild symptoms mean. Thats subjective and i dont think were being told exactly what going on, which is a shame because transparency at this time is not only important, i think, for sort of public confidence, but also for people to see the evolution of what really happened so they can finally see the truth. You have no idea how many, and maybe youve got the