We werent actually even going to do a show today. I wasnt going to even be here right now. But, then again, a lot of people are in places today that they did not expect to be. Because, in the earlymorning hours, we learned that President Trump and first lady melania tested positive for covid19. Now, say what you will about the president and i do this is a serious moment for our nation, and we all wish the president and the first lady of the United States a speedy and full recovery. News on trumps condition has been sketchy. This morning, the president s old friend, dr. Ronny jackson remember him . He said the president and the first lady are going to be okay, tweeting, they are both fine and completely asymp totic. The president is in very good health and has no comorbiteees. Yes, he doesnt have a single symptot and theres nothing wrong with his biteies, let alone his morebities. If donald trump ever wants lessbities, thats when we should worry. But the disgraced doctor might be shockingly wrong. And not just because he is no longer the president s doctor. Its because later we learned that trump actually has had some symptoms. Namely, he has a lowgrade fever, nasal congestion and a cough, according to two people close to trump. Why are two people close to trump . Stay at least six feet away hes got fever and a cough then, this afternoon, when we were all processing that information actually, we here at the show were writing this, right now we looked up to the tv and what the helicopter is going on . Marine one lands on the white house lawn because trump is going to walter reed trump then walked out, looked steady, under his own recognizance, with a mask, and off they went. And i really think its important for all of us to separate the man from the office. And i hope on november 3, we literally do. But for now, i find it troubling moving, even to see the president of the United States being taken to the hospital and to imagine the responsibility those Service Members flying that helicopter must feel. Trump is now at a special suite at Walter Reed National military Medical Center for the next few days, as a precautionary measure. Two sources familiar with the plan say hes expected to undergo tests. So, to recap, the commander in chief of the most powerful nation on earth has fallen ill with a virus that has hobbled the entire world. This, after spending the last few months holding rallies, mocking people who wear masks, and generally acting like he was invincible, even though hes a 74yearold man with pre existing conditions. And a lot of people are calling this an october surprise. I think its more like an october well, yeah but its still disturbing. I am worried for the president of the United States. Specifically, im worried why someone didnt protect our president from this pandemic. It is important that our president not get sick. And it is upsetting, but not surprising, that the one who put our president in danger is donald trump. Wellwishes for the president poured out across the internet, including from his rival, joe biden, who tweeted, jill and i send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family. Thats a classy response. And lets not forget, biden needs trump to get better. I mean, at the next debate, joe cant interrupt himself so how did the president and the first lady catch the coronavirus . Well, well never really know for sure, but one possibility is that they did so from white house adviser hope hicks. Now, hicks is selfisolating, and i have to say, its a little onthenose to hear that america is currently hopeless. Now, hicks tested negative on wednesday morning, then flew with trump on air force one to his rally in minnesota. But after the rally, hicks felt unwell which is normal after watching a trump rally. Thats when i usually self medicate. Thank you, doctor. On the way back, hicks isolated herself aboard air force one. Okay, but can you really isolate yourself on a plane . Youre all sharing the same space and the same air. Hey, ive got leprosy, but dont you worry, ill quarantine on the other side of this hot tub. Now, shortly thereafter, hicks tested positive, and trump learned the news on thursday morning. But, the white house didnt tell anybody. They had hoped to keep the news about ms. Hicks from becoming public. That is not exactly responsible. You dont see these safety instructions in stairwells in case of fire, tell no one shhhh you cant keep a positive test secret, because then how do you do Contact Tracing . And in the days around her positive test, hope hicks came in contact with a whole lot of people to trace, including jim jordan, Rudy Giuliani, mark meadows, Kayleigh Mcenany, stephen miller, and trumps kids. And you know the kids are going to spread it. Eric still hasnt learned to how close his mouth all the way. Technically, and logically, and ethically, the white house should have alerted all of those people, but they didnt. So even though she should be in quarantine, Kayleigh Mcenany held her Daily Press Conference without a mask, because she did not know hope hicks had tested positive until after her briefing yesterday. They kept her in the dark, and really, thats kayleighs job hopefully, this will end the press secretary tradition of beginning every press conference by licking jim acosta. Of course, its entirely possible trump was the super spreader himself, because some of trumps closest aides sensed on wednesday that the president was feeling poorly. The president seemed exhausted. Okay, but according to studies, people may be contagious for about two days before developing covid19 symptoms. Two days. So, if he was feeling down on wednesday, that means he may have been contagious when he debated joe biden. And remember, trump wouldnt stop talking straight at biden. Joe was right in the splash zone forget a mask he should have been wearing a poncho, like he was at sea world. Now we know that the Vice President was just encouraging safe hygiene when he said this will you shut up, man . Stephen now, so far, joe and jill biden have tested negative. By the way, no one from the white house even called the Biden Campaign to tell them about the positive tests. Reportedly, the campaign learned of the situation from news reports. Thats like finding out your boyfriend has an s. T. D. From a pharmaceutical commercial. Warning signs of chlamydia include burning sensation, pain while urinating, or dating bill. Stephen and it wasnt just during the debate. The Trump Campaign played fast and loose with virus throughout the process. Just ask friend of the show and enemy of democracy, Chris Christie reporter governor, you were part of the debate prep. What can you tell us about the bubble . Were folks Wearing Masks . Were you wearing a mask . Was Rudy Giuliani wearing a mask when they were when you were working with the president and others in the room . No, no one was Wearing Masks in the room when we were prepping. Stephen what . Youre in a room with Rudy Giuliani, and no one tried to cover his mouth . Now, in trumps defense, when it comes to the debate and the rallies he held afterwards, he had no idea that he had been exposed to the virus. He didnt know that until right before attending a fundraiser at his bedminster, new jersey, golf club. The theme was cough up the dough and get coughed on tickets for the fundraiser werent cheap. Donors paid up to 250,000. Thats a lot of cash to fork over just to get exposed to a virus. In new york, i know a guy on 14th street who will spit on you for free. Now, in total, about 50 people came into close contact with President Trump. And since the news of the president s diagnosis broke last night, the donors have been reaching out to the Trump Campaign, freaking out. Oh, now that it is affecting you, youre freaking out . How could they have let the covid into the country club, muffy . Its not even wearing tennis whites ah we miss you, thurston howell. The r. N. C. Issued a comforting statement, assuring donors that everyone who attended the bedminster, new jersey, event was tested for covid19. Okay before they went in. What good does that do them . It doesnt matter how healthy you are before you swap spit with typhoid mary this morning, the administration really put the damn in damage control by sending out white house chief of staff mark meadows, seen here trying to sterilize the room with the power of his mind. A lot of people think the administration kept this information secret and thereby needlessly exposed a lot of people to the virus, so, a reporter asked meadows about the infection timeline, and he said, what timeline . Reporter what day and time did you find out that hope hicks had tested positive . And did you sit on it until after the president went out to his fundraiser in new jersey . Actually, as we look at this, im not going to get into the ticktock. Stephen as meadows im a little old for the tiktok. The teens scare me. Plus, the only dancing i do is around the truth. Watch this ill be taking no more questions. Was that anything . Was that anything, that i just did . Close enough. Stephen heres the thing its bad enough that Donald Trumps recklessness put himself and those around him in danger. But what might be worse is that, by doing so, he compromises the safety of all americans. When the commander in chief contracts a dangerous virus, that has an effect on National Security. Based upon the number of personnel that he comes into contact with every single day, without wearing a mask, it is logical that other senior personnel within the National Security apparatus could be infected by this virus. At minimum, they will also be unable to fully perform their duties. The u. S. Government is incredibly vulnerable at this moment. Stephen in other words, the president has a responsibility to stay safe so that we can all stay safe. Trump not wearing a mask is the most irresponsible thing a commander in chief has done to our National Security since the night before dday when f. D. R. Went skydiving. Now, a lot of people are experiencing schadenfreude right now. In fact, merriamwebster reports a 30,500 spike in searches for schadenfreude after trumps covid diagnosis. But i, for one, take no pleasure in donald trump being sick, because like him or not and for the record not he is the president. It is his job to run the country. Thats a tough job for anybody. And now hes got to do it while hes sick. I know my decisions are pretty sketchy when im sick. Once, i had food poisoning, and i almost convinced myself that the bathroom was too far away from the bed, and it would just be easier for me to stay put and just buy a new mattress. And, honestly, if serta offered sameday delivery, i might have gone through with it. So, to keep us safe, donald trump and the first lady have to keep themselves healthy. That means staying in quarantine until theyre completely better, and then continuing to social distance until the pandemic is over. In other, words, as a very wise crowd once said lock them up lock them up lock them up lock them up stephen weve got a great and unexpected show for you tonight. Ill be zooming with 60 minutes correspondent John Dickerson about the political implications of what has happened today. But when we return, i have a lot of questions for cbs chief medical correspondent, dr. Jon lapook. Stick around. Dont be afraid, this halloween will be just like last. Well buy tons of reeses cups for the youngins. laughing then eat them all ourselves. Reeses. laughing then eat them all ourselves. I like big jeans. Ittybitty jeans. Feelin trendy yall, with the straight jeans showin off those curves, cause you the queen everyone go slay in your Old Navy Jeans this monday and tuesday get 50 off everything online only at oldnavy. Com knowinits hard. Re is hard. Eliminate who you are not first, and youre going to find yourself where you need to be. The race is never over. The journey has no port. The adventure never ends, because we are always on the way. Push the button the time has come to galvanize is now even more powerful. The stronger, lastslonger energizer max. Such as high blood pressure,ve, pdiabetes, and asthma. S this administration and Senate Republicans want to overturn laws requiring Insurance Companies to cover people with preexisting conditions. Theyre rushing a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court to change the law through the courts. 70 of americans want to keep protections for preexisting conditions in place. Tell our leaders in washingtn to stop playing games with our healthcare. My hygienist cleans with a round head, so does my oralb. My hygienist personalizes my cleaning, so does my oralb. My hygienist uses just the right pressure, and so does my oralb. Oralb combines a dentistinspired brush head with the gentle energy of microvibrations for the wow of a professional clean feel every day. My mouth says wow and so does my oralb. In the tubbs fire. The flames, the ash, it was terrifying. Thousands of family homes are destroyed in wildfires. Families are forced to move and higher property taxes are a huge problem. Prop 19 limits taxes on wildfire victims so families can move without a tax penalty. Nineteen will help rebuild lives. Vote yes on 19. Stephen welcome back, everybody. Lets say hello to our friend, mr. Jon batiste. Jon, can you believe this day . Jon wow. We are really seeing an unprecedented time. 2020 is taking the cake. I have never seen anything like this before. Stephen jon, will you join me in saying a prayer for the president of the United States and the first lady . Jon oh, absolutely. Pray for their health and hope they overcome this. Stephen right. Because regardless about how you feel about donald trump and i have not been vague about that it is important to see the humanity of this moment and how important it is for our country for the president to be healthy. Jon oh, absolutely. Suffering is the great equalizer, and the ramifications of this are major, so we pray for the best. Stephen jon batiste, everybody. Thank you, jon. Jon absolutely, thank you, stephen. Stephen my first guest tonight is a professor of medicine at new york university, a physician at n. Y. U. Langone, and chief medical correspondent for cbs news. Here to break down the latest news out of the white house, please welcome back to a late show, dr. Jon lapook. Dr. Lapook, thanks for being here today. I know how busy you must be. Im happy to be here, stephen. Thanks for inviting me. Stephen well, it is it is truly troubling to see the president taken off to the hospital. What a sobering moment in time, stephen. It really is. And it and it was upsetting to see the president of the United States with covid19, and especially, you know, i was in the covid wards in april at n. Y. U. Langone, where im a professor, and i know that people can, the first week, they can be quite stable, but then in that second week, they can take a turn for the worse. And i suspect thats why they want him under close observation at the Medical Center there. Stephen well, obviously, were hoping for the president and the first lady to fully recover. Now that he is at walter reed, what do we know about the severity of his condition, in anything . You know, weve heard that, you know, he has some mild symptoms and a lowgrade fever. We dont know what a lowgrade fever is, exactly. Stephen that was my first question. What does it mean to have a low grade fever . Right, we know fever, cough, the dangerous one is shortness of breath. But nope, we saw him for a few seconds, talking. He gave a tweet, a video tweet, and he looked to me like he did not have shortness of breath, like he did not have labored breathing. And then he walked up the staircase to the helicopter and he gave the banister, the rail, about three quick taps. So, that was sort of a good sign. But, you know, he is over 65, right, hes 74, which is a risk factor. Hes obese, technically, by the last numbers we have. And in the United States, mortality from covid19, people over the age of 65, is 15 onefive percent. So, i mean, the odds are statistically that he should get better, especially hes under such close observation and care. But the one thing thats predictable about coronavirus is that its unpredictable. Stephen the president s physician has said hes receiving something called a polyclonal antibody cocktail treatment. What is that, for the layman . You know, i think this was a misstatement by them. Its Monoclonal Antibody. This is regenerons Monoclonal Antibody cocktail. And you and i talked last time about antibodies, that if somebody has an infection, they have all of these antibodies in their blood stream, and thats called convalescent plasma. But in that convalescent plasma, there are a lot of different antibodies to different parts of the coronavirus that maybe dont attack it that well, move to other things, other organisms in your body. But the Monoclonal Antibody is a its an experimental treatment. I should say that. It has not been proven to be safe or effective. But its a Technological Tour De force. In the lab, they make antibodies directly solely to the part of the coronavirus, that crown its called a coronavirus because of the crown it just attaches to that part of the crown, which is necessary for the virus to attack you. So its a very specific treatment. There is some preliminary data that it does look like its safe. It might be effective. But, again, we dont know enough about his condition to know what was the riskbenefit decision there . Why did they make that decision . Was it just quote, unquote an abundance of caution . Its an experimental treatment were not giving everybody. We do need to have more transparency, i think. Stephen we have so little transparency about the president s health in general, dont we . We know that he went to walter reed in was it 2018 . Or early 19 . Last year, yeah. Stephen last year, and we still havent gotten a really good answer as to why that happened. So, do we, at this moment, really know what the president s comorbidities may be . We dont know everything for sure, and this you know, this brings up the whole point of transparency. One of the very first rules of Public Health crisis management, stephen, is to be transparent. To just tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And paradoxically, if youre honest with people, if you level with them, and they know that youre leveling with them, even if the news is worrisome, the whole process is, in and of itself, reassuring. So you just got to just tell the tell it as it is. People are grownups in the United States well, a lot of people are. laughs especially the grownups. But, i think you got to be honest with people and just tell them the facts. Stephen well, the debate on tuesday was at case western and cleveland clinic. And the cleveland Officials Say that theyre presently aware of 11 positive cases related to the setup and the planning of tuesdays debate. Biden, and dr. Biden, jill biden, tested negative today. Are they in the clear . I mean, is thre a chance that we just dont know yet . I love that question. The quick answer is, they are not in the clear yet. We dont know yet. And remember last time, we spent all that time with the biggest explaining the biggest misconception in the pandemic, in my experience has been the two to 14day incubation period and its very, very, very relevant right here. So lets go over it again. If i get infected today infected i can be infectious, able to infect somebody else, anywhere from two to 14 days later. That means i could get tested day three, be negative; day four, be negative; day five, be negative; anywhere up to day 14. And at any moment, i could go from testing negative to testing positive and then infecting somebody else, even without symptoms. Thats why its so important that anybody who is in close contact with anybody who is infected, that they get tested to make sure to see if they may be spread it to somebody else and that they go into quarantine. Stephen so that quarantine, would that include the people that have been in contact not only with hope hicks but the president the last few days mike pence, bill barr, alex azar. Should those people Kayleigh Mcenany. Should they be in quarantine right now, regardless of their tests . You know, it depends on whether they were felt to be in close contact, and thats up for sort of a little bit of judgment call. Supposedly it means within six feet for 15 minutes. Theres no strict rule about that. But if they were in close contact, then they really should be tested to see if they if they could potentially be infecting somebody else, and then they should go into quarantine. Theres confusion about those terms. If youre infected, you go into isolation. If you are exposed to somebody who is infected, you go into quarantine. Stephen okay, okay. Well, as a doctor, im sure youve had a lot of patients over the years who do not take your instructions. A couple. Stephen and and. A lot of americans arent taking masks or social distancing seriously. Do you think that this might be an opportunity to depoliticize the teaching over how to keep covid from spreading here, to take masks away from left right, republican democrat, and just make it the right prescription . You know, stephen, i do think its a potential teaching moment. Clearly, masks and whether you wear them or not has been politicized for whatever reason. Its very clear that weve had mixed messages on it. Its also very clear that masks are part of the armamentarium that we have to help protect us. Nothing is 100 . So you wear masks. You wash your hands. You have the physical distancing. You try to be in a place where theres not that many dense people. Outdoors is safer than indoors. If youre indoors, open a window, crack a door, have better ventilation, maybe an air purifier. All of these things work in concert together. Not one thing even the vaccine when it comes is not going to be 100 effective, so you have to do all of these things together. Stephen doctor, we have to take a quick break. Stick around everybody, when we come back, i will ask dr. Lapook about whether the president should do the next debate. Stick around. Another bundle in the books. Got to hand it to you, jamie. Your knowledge of victorian architecture really paid off this time. Nah, just got lucky. So did the thompsons. That faulty wiring couldve cost them a lot more than the mudroom. Thankfully they bundled their motorcycle with their home and auto. Theyre protected 24 7. Mm. What do you say . One more game of backgammon . [ chuckles ] not on your life. [ laughs ] when the lights go down it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. Im still clear, five years now. Cosentyx works fast to give you clear skin that can last. Real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if youve had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. I look and feel so much better. See me. Ask your dermatologist if cosentyx could help you move past the pain of psoriasis. Working within amazon transportation services, i really saw the challenge of climate change. We want to be sustainable, but when you have a truck covering over 300 miles, or you have flights going hundreds of miles, its a bit more challenging. We are letting the data guide us to the best solution. Its inspiring to try to solve a problem that no one else has solved. Thats super exciting. They gladly fetched it anyway. When life gave them the short end of the stick. Its inspiring to try to solve a problem that subaru presents. The underdogs. Older. Physically challenged. These remarkable dogs will never slow you down. In fact, theyre probably wondering if you can keep up with them. Subaru loves all pets. So were asking you to please consider adopting an underdog. And join us in celebrating all dogs on our Second AnnualNational Make a dogs day. Subaru. More than a car company. Stephen hey, everybody. Were here with dr. Jon lapook. So, youre not a politician. You dont talk about politics. But we are in the middle of an election right now. Coming in to the home stretch. We just had a debate on tuesday. His diagnosis is friday morning, 1 00 a. M. , Something Like that. At least when we found out. How long is a reasonable quarantine and the objective of this question is can he be at that next debate, which is less than two weeks away . Well, typically, somebody who is infected remember, he will be in isolation, because hes actually infected. And its supposed to be for 10 days from the time the symptom begins. After ten days, it hasnt been shown that you can infect other people, that the virus can infect you. So he should be in isolation now. For the president of the United States, hes essential personnel, im sure he wont be literally in isolation. There will be people coming in there. But people who are with him should be geared up. They should have protective equipment. They should be Wearing Masks and hopefully goggles, gowns, gloves, in the hospital, and even outside the hospital because of the potential for spread by airborne route, then people should be protected. And i should add the reason why the word airborne has taken on such a big, charged meaning is the c. D. C. Is concerned when people hear the word airborne theyre going to think smallpox, tuberculosis, measles, which really has a tremendous amount to go through the air. Theyre worried when they hear the word airborne for covid19 thats going to say youre going to have to change, your guidance have more stringent protective measures. Actually, i spoke to them about this, even if it is airborne its not felt to be spread by the airborne route nearly as much as say measles or tuberculsis. And i think thats very important. If we acknowledge that its happening through the air, through these aerosols, then we can fix it. As people like joe allen from harvard said, once you acknowledge it you do the things you should do, which are basically improve the ventilation, which in a lot of buildings is not sufficient. Stephen do you think biden was in any danger tuesday because thats in the period of time, as i understand it, that the president could have been infected. Yeah, i am concerned about that. Im happ to hear today he was a little bit more than 12 feet away. But if the president had even a little bit of virus in there with this potential to have aerosol spread, it could have gone across. They were out there for a while. And we know from aerosol science, the louder you speak, the more, the higher number of these aerosols and there was a lot of loud speaking there. And that is why dr. Fauci is so adamant about people not going to bars indoors. What happens in a bar, stephen, right . You cant hear, because everybody is talking so loud. So you say, come closer. Let me come closer to you, and ill talk louder, and ive been drinking and i dont have a mask on because im drinking. So the aerosols are coming. Im talking louder, and thats just a recipe for spreading covid19, for spreading sars covid2, the virus which causes covid19. If theres anything people take out of this tonight is, really, wear the mask. The mask works. Its not 100 , but its something thats very important for everybody to do in the proper setting. Stephen you heard jon lapook drink alone and drink at home. Dr. Jon lapook, everybody. Thank you for being here, doctor. Well be right back with 60 minutes anchor John Dickerson. Dynanana, nana, nana, eh dynanana, nana, nana, eh dynanana, nana, nana, eh light it up, dynamite shining through the city with a little funk and soul so ima light it up like dynamite cause, ahah, shining through the city with a little funk and soul ima light it up like dynamite, whoa knowinits hard. Re is hard. Eliminate who you are not first, and youre going to find yourself where you need to be. The race is never over. The journey has no port. The adventure never ends, because we are always on the way. Leggo a big mac no pickles please. There you go. Medium fries. Con ketchup. And an oreo mcflurry. Of course ooof the j balvin meal. Get it on the mcdonalds app and the mcflurry is on me. Im lovin it get it on the mcdonalds app and the mcflurry is on me. He calls on the nations antop health experts. S, working together, for all americans, is what joe does. When writing his healthcare plan, joe biden worked with both doctors and patients to make healthcare affordable by lowering premiums, reducing drug costs, and protecting people with preexisting conditions. Joe listened to both Small Business owners and workers to create his economic plan that cuts taxes for middle class families, creates 18 million new jobs in his first term, and raises wages by as much as 15,000 a year. Joe bidens plans will help working families immediately by making the super rich finally pay their fair share. For joe, its never been about ego. Its always been about the work he can do for working families. Its what hes always done. Joe biden brings everyone to the table and gets it done. Im joe biden, and i approve this message. Smooth driving pays off with allstate, the safer you drive the more you save you never been in better hands allstate click or call for a quote today you never been in better hands allstate proposition 16 takes some women make as little as 42 of what a man makes. Voting yes on prop 16 helps us fix that. Its supported by leaders like Kamala Harris and opposed by those who have always opposed equality. We either fall from grace or we rise. Together. Proposition 16 provides equal opportunities, levelling the Playing Field for all of us. Vote yes on prop 16. Stephen welcome back, everybody. My next guest tonight is a 60 minutes correspondent and author who has been reporting on washington since 1995. Please welcome back to a late show, John Dickerson john, thanks for being here. Good to be with you again, stephen. Stephen now, john, the last time you and i were talking together is because you had released your new book, the hardest job in the world, which is a history of the american presidency and how it has become nearly an impossible job to do. So i think youre exactly the person to talk about how this now affects the job and the politics of the moment. Its only october 2. How many more october surprises can we expect to get . You know, i mean, when you think of the tax story, that was an october surprise that hit in september. Now this one hits at the beginning of october. Its its you know, we look at the polls and they have not responded to some of these huge shocks to the political system, but ths is quite different. I mean, this is the numberone issue at the center of american life, and the president is now both responsible for the response and he is now a patient being treated for it. Stephen can you think of anything historically thats comparable to this moment . You know, not this late in the i mean, there are certainly president s who have been sick, and we can talk about that, but not something thats happened this close. I mean, there are 32 days to the election. The voting is going on now. The president has raised questions and encouraged his supporters to raise questions about the democratic process. Theres a Supreme Court nomination going on. The pandemic is still going on. So nothing that has been this critical and had this much going on all at the same time this close to an election. Stephen so in some ways, the way that trump being taken off to walter reed and is sort of par for the course this year. Its one of the most 2020 things that could happen right now. It is. Although, you could say him getting coronavirus is very 2020. But what struck me about seeing the president in the methodical steps of getting him to walter reed, wearing a mask which we dont see him often doing the protocol and everything that is kicking into place is its impervious to spin. Its not like Everything Else weve seen. Its not like it the stuff in the campaign which is all about shaping the environment and the narrative. This is the methodical steps to get a president well, because its that serious. Stephen it sort of goes back to what people have been saying for the last seven months, which is covid doesnt care what your party is, and covid doesnt care how the senate votes. Covid doesnt care how you want to position this message. Covid is the message. Exactly. Covid wait for no man or woman. It is coming, and it is relentless. And we have seen in the president s response to covid a constant effort to play down the risks of it, and his his Public Health officials have been pleading for people to not lose sight of the fact that covid does not stop. It continues. And so youve seen that tension for months going on i mean, on all different kinds of issues, and youve seen it on this mask question. And now were not thinking about it just theoretically. It has, in fact, come to pass, that the president , who has not shared that view, that his advisers have, now is having to go through special treatment, and its all, you know, very up in the air as we try to get information about what in fact his condition is. Stephen so there are five weeks until the election thereabouts. And two of those weeks, the president will not be able to be out on the road campaigning. What does this do to race . What are the consequences for both of these campaigns . Because, obviously, this has to change in some ways what biden is doing. Well, yes. What it did at first is it interrupted with a pleasant return to some norms that we might have thought were gone, which is that joe biden and a lot of other democrats wished the president well. They basically spoke in human terms about the president and his health and prayed for it. That interruption, however, thats an assertion of a norm and in these times of shredding norms, its nice to see them reasserted, but the continues. And what this will do is two things. One, it will keep the story focused on the very thing the president doesnt want the story focused on, which is the pandemic and his handling of it. 65 of the country think hes done a poor job. Hes been working very, very hard in everything, including the debate this week, to change the topic on anything but covid. Now its at the center of the conversation. He is kept in these constrained conditions which means he then cant go out in the country and change the conversation to something else. Stephen for months now, the Trump Campaign has been going after joe biden and saying things like he is sitting in his basement alone, hiding, diminished. And much of trumps message not just now but throughout his political career and before that is the idea of strength. The fact that hes presently at walter reed, how is that going to change how he can campaign against joe biden even when he comes out of it . You know, well, already, it makes those past statements and the president s statements during the debate, in which he made fun of joe biden for wearing a mask, his family members who didnt wear a mask at the debate, in hindsight, those e all look foolhardy. And, again, this is not some frivolous thing. This is the central issue where 207,000 americans have died. And it connects with a central critique of the president , which is that in downplaying the virus, whether it is with respect to his own health, the health of his family, or wearing a mask, connects with the policy response, which has been to downplay, which has that huge result of the hundreds of thousands of americans dead. So the president will no doubt, as a clever politician, try to do something to make something positive of this. But to the extent that it connects with the number one thing he has been trying to avoid and makes it a personal part of his story, which is going to call for endless hours of coverage, it will be very, very hard to surmount that with some kind of athletic act of political gamesmanship. Stephen lets talk about the Constitutional Responsibilities here. We sought president walk out to marine one and walk off of marine one. He seems as steady as ever. Hes wearing a mask. Theres no overt sense that hes compromised in any way. At what point is the 25th amendment invoked . Like, when would mike pence be asked to take any responsibilities . You know, well, there are a variety of dinner triggers. The way its been triggered most recently there are ways in which you can trigger it without the president s consent. The president has given consent twice, when george w. Bush had a colonoscopy and went other. That was also the case with ronald reagan. That could happen here, but one thing that is important, while there are protocols and a rule manual for handling those things, this is a stress test of the white house operation, of the whole team. And that means not only dealing with handling the president s illness and informing the public, but the todo list that is there that he may not be able to handle in his condition, or at least may be harder for him to handle. You have to have a good team in place to do that. You cant figure that out on the fly. And its why so many white house veterans say building a team, having a team that works together is tow important, because this is the kind of surprise although this is an extraordinary one that faces a president. Stephen i read about the necessity of building a good team in the white house. Its in a book called the hardest job in the world. You should check it out some time. Its pretty darn good. Do you have a copy . You know, yes, i do, right here. Available at bookstores near you. Stephen its an excellent gift for whatever holiday comes up next. Now, i i have to say, when i saw marine one take off from the white house lawn to take the president away even though he does his chopper talk frequently we never see marine one taking off in that shot. When we saw that shot and the camera follow it over the potomac to walter reed, we associate that shot with january 20 the day the president leaves the white house for the last time. What was your emotional response when you say air force i mean, marine one taking off . Thats right, they dont hold the shot. The president is off to go do whatever he is going to do. But in this case the journey itself is interesting so they hold the shot. What struck me in that moment we are watching in real time the president be cared for. Theres lots of president ial history of president s basically sneaking away and not telling the truth about how sick they are. Wilson had a stroke in office. They hid that from the country for months. Eisenhower had a heart attack. They told reporters it was because he had too many onions on his burger. Cleveland went away and got jaw surgery and wore a fake mustache to hide it. The tradition has been to hide these things. While the information coming from the white house has been a little bit spot, watching it happen in real time is quite new, and president s can only sort of protect this information as much as not very much in the age of everything being filmed. Stephen john we have to take a quick break. Stick around, everybody. When we come back, ill ask john about how this may affect the confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett. Well be right back. The support weve had over the last few months has been amazing. Its not just a work environment. Everyone here is family. Thank you i like big jeans. Ittybitty jeans. Feelin trendy yall, with the straight jeans showin off those curves, cause you the queen everyone go slay in your Old Navy Jeans this monday and tuesday get 50 off everything online only at oldnavy. Com joe biden was raised with middle class values. Joe doesnt need to be the center of attention. Or see himself on tv. He has always focused on getting the job done. 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And while we dont yet have a cure or a vaccine, we do know how to keep you and your loved ones safe. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Stay six feet apart. Do your best to stay out of crowded spaces. And get a flu shot, its even more important this year. We can do this. If we do it together. Stephen hey, everybody, were back with 60 minutess John Dickerson. John, as you said earlier, this also comes at a time when the republicans are pushing through Amy Coney Barrett to replace ruth bader ginsburg. Do you think this will affect that in any way . I know i know mcconnell said theyre going to push ahead, but is it going to be zoom confirmations . Because there may be cascading effects throughout the republican hierarchy because of their contacts with people at the white house. Thats right. And it may there may have been an event it may have been barretts announcement at the white house that was an event where spreading took place. Senator mike lee from utah is isolating because he tested positive. The only delay or difference is Mitch Mcconnell may he had wanted inperson hearings and inperson senate and he may now buckle and might be on a remote call to make this go through. But Mitch Mcconnell is so focused on this, i dont think theres going to be any delay. Stephen your atlantic piece spare a moment for sorrow which you wrote in march, about then a much smaller death toll for covid19 in the United States. It talked about a lack of central a public figure who was leading our country in grief and addressing the loss of our fellow citizens, and lead us toward the humanity of this moment. Now that the man in the center of our national story, the one who did not lead us, is the person who is now affected by this terrible disease, is there a way that the country itself can set that tone in the absence of his leadership . Because i think now we especially need it. Because however you feel about the president , he is the central figure of our nation. Thats right. So i think it is its something that we all can practice in not mixing the human with the political. And thats already happened a lot with this in the grim kind of ghoulish counting of what numbers are real and what numbers arent real. And what strikes me is that when those conversations take place, or when somebody who might want to have a partisan response to the president s illness, when they do that, we are all knit together in this moment of sorrow. There are people and families of the 207,000 who have died who are affected by our public conversations. They are we are all at this moment together as opposed to grief, which often happens alone. And you look at the rest of the world, and you think, they dont know about my sorrow we all do know. We are all going through it together. So that provide an opportunity for a leader to speak to that moment and bring everybody together, and also just speak to a hole in everybodys heart. But it also speaks to a moment for all of us to participate in, which is to recognize our common humanity and maybe lay off for a minute when the most powerful person, even if you dont like him, happens to be going through the same thing. Stephen john, thanks for being here. Thank you, stephen. Stephen John Dickerson, everybody. Well be right back. When was the last time your property tax bill went down . What . Never. Are you kidding me . For years, the residential burden has gone up. While the corporate burden has gone down. Prop 15 reverses that. It closes corporate loopholes and invests in schools, Small Business, and firefighters. And when the big corporations pay more, your tax bill goes down. Thats right. A savings of a hundred twentyone dollars a year for the average home. Give homeowners a break. Vote yes on 15. Woman 1 get your woman 2 you can stay healthy and fill it out from the safety of home. Surfer or you can fill it out anywhere. Man 1 its easy to mail it back. You dont even need a stamp. Man 2 or you can use an official drop box. Woman 3 you can even drop it off at the polls. Man 3 then, track it to confirm your county got it. See . They got it woman 4 mail ballots are the simple, safe, and secure way to ensure that your vote is counted. The unfair money bail system. He, accused of rape. While he, accused of stealing 5. The stanford rapist could afford bail; got out the same day. The Senior Citizen could not; forced to wait in jail nearly a year. Voting yes on prop 25 ends this failed system, replacing it with one based on public safety. Because the size of your wallet shouldnt determine whether or not youre in jail. Vote yes on prop 25 to end money bail. Stephen now lets say good night with some music from jon batiste and stay human. 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