memeorandum: “No One Knows Where This Is Going to Go”: Pandemonium Inside the White House as Trump Contracts COVID-19 (Gabriel Sherman/Vanity Fair)

2:10 PM ET, October 2, 2020

Top Items:

2020 Election Live Updates: What Trump's Positive Test Means for the Race — The president's announcement early Friday that he tested positive upended the race in an instant, with less than five weeks to go before the election. It also rattled the world and sent markets tumbling.

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

GOP donors panic after coming close to Trump at fundraiser hours before his positive Covid-19 test — GOP donors, according to a person briefed on the matter, have been reaching out to Trump campaign and GOP officials for any guidance as to what to do next following a fundraiser with the president.

Discussion: New Republic, Mother Jones, abc7NY, Raw Story, Gothamist, The Lakewood Scoop, Political Wire, NBC New York and NBC Boston

CNN:

President Donald Trump tweets he and first lady Melania Trump test positive for Covid-19 — Hope Hicks, one of Trump's closest advisers, tests positive for coronavirus, president to quarantine

New York Times:

On Monday, Trump Updated the Nation on Virus Strategy. By Friday, He Tested Positive. — President Trump interacted with scores of staff members, donors and supporters this week. Early Friday morning, it was still unclear how many other aides who had come into close contact with him had tested positive.

Discussion: NBC News, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, OpsLens and Task & Purpose

Washington Post:

Supreme Court nominee diagnosed with coronavirus this summer but has since recovered — Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was diagnosed with the coronavirus earlier this year but has since recovered, three officials familiar with her diagnosis told The Washington Post.

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, Raw Story, Law & Crime and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“No One Knows Where This Is Going to Go”: Pandemonium Inside the White House as Trump Contracts COVID-19 — The president has a cough and a fever; the first lady is said to be asymptomatic. The real question is how bad it gets—and how the election unfolds.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story

New York Times:

Trump Tests Positive for the Coronavirus — The president's result came after he spent months playing down the severity of the outbreak that has killed more than 207,000 in the United States and hours after insisting that “the end of the pandemic is in sight.”

Discussion: Axios, Vox, The Daily Beast, Townhall, Politico, The Sun, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, NPR, The Nation, Vanity Fair, Redstate, Reason, The Hill, Deadline, Mediaite, The Week, NBC Boston, CBS Philly and Duluth News Tribune

New York Times:

Trump's Positive Coronavirus Test Upends Campaign in Final Stretch — With his health and the country's stability at risk, strategists and even senior aides to the president said he would face a harsh judgment from voters. — WASHINGTON — President Trump's announcement early Friday …

Discussion: Raw Story

Barbie Latza Nadeau / The Daily Beast:

Conspiracy-Theory Twitter Is Going Nuts Over Trump's COVID Diagnosis — Within moments of the Trumps confirming they had both tested positive for COVID-19, conspiracy theorists were going wild. — Correspondent-At-Large — It took about two full minutes from President Trump's tweet confirming …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Vox and Washington Post

Politico:

‘This is the worst nightmare for the Trump campaign’ — Donald Trump had done everything possible to shift the focus of the presidential campaign away from his handling of the coronavirus. — His own infection now ensures that he can't - pulling Trump off the road 32 days before the election …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, abc7NY and The American Independent

New York Times:

Covid-19 Live Updates: Trump's Virus Symptoms Appear Mild So Far — President Trump is experiencing coldlike symptoms after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to two people familiar with his condition. Vice President Mike Pence and other officials have tested negative.

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, Axios, NBC News, Vox, National Review, Reason, Breitbart, The American Independent, GZERO, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, Forbes, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Hill, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, Spectator USA, National File, POLITICUSUSA, STAT and New York Post

Washington Post:

Trump says he and first lady have tested positive for the coronavirus — President Trump and his wife, Melania, have contracted the coronavirus, he announced early Friday, after months in which he has often played down a pandemic that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and sickened millions more.

Los Angeles Times:

Trump's coronavirus infection is the result of his deadly, foolish recklessness — Americans awaken this morning to the grave news that President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the dreadful coronavirus that has killed more than 207,000 people in the U.S. and brought the U.S. economy to its knees.

Discussion: Spectator USA, Mother Jones and The Atlantic

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

White House coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas reacts to Trump's coronavirus diagnosis, says ‘zero reason to panic’ — Trump and the first lady announced early Friday that they both tested positive for COVID-19 — Trump, first lady test positive for coronavirus

Discussion: National Review, Vox, Axios, MSNBC, Newsweek, Conservative News Today, New York Times, The Week, CNN, ABC News and New York Post

James Hamblin / The Atlantic:
The Probable Outcomes of Trump's Diagnosis

Discussion: Vox, CNN and Breitbart

Tessa Berenson / TIME:
Amy Coney Barrett Had COVID-19 in Recent Months, Friends of Supreme Court Pick Say

Discussion: Townhall, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Politico, Fox News, The Hill, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Week, The Daily Caller, Washington Times and New York Post

Marisa Schultz / Fox News:
Pelosi gets tested for coronavirus, raises ‘concerns’ on accuracy of White House tests as she awaits results

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, The Week, Daily Kos and One America News Network

Olivia Messer / The Daily Beast: Trump Buddies Are Boasting They Tested Negative. That Doesn't Mean Anything.

Matt Berman / BuzzFeed News:
I Am The Politics Editor And I Have Absolutely No Idea What Happens Next

Discussion: CANNONFIRE

Politico:
Biden tests negative for coronavirus

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, National Review, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Associated Press, The Guardian, Political Wire, The Hill, Deadline, NPR, NBC Boston and The 19th

Sam Baker / Axios:
Age, obesity put Trump at high risk for severe coronavirus infection

Discussion: ABC News, Reuters, CNBC, The Week, Raw Story, Vox, Forbes and NPR

Associated Press:
Statement from Trump's doctor on president's virus diagnosis

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Dot, Fox News, Chicago Sun-Times and Axios

Associated Press:
Trump says he and first lady tested positive for coronavirus

Discussion: New York Times, Bangor Daily News, Bloomberg, WAVY-TV, WSPA-TV, The Sun, The Week, ABC News, Forbes, Gothamist, Al Jazeera, Politico and Reuters

Reuters:
Pelosi says agreement on U.S. airline payroll assistance ‘imminent’

Discussion: Politico and The Hill

Bloomberg:
Trump Tests Positive for Covid, Roiling Campaign and White House

Rick Hasen / electionlawblog.org:
With News That the President Has Tested Positive for Coronavirus (and He Was in Contact with Joe Biden at the Debate Earlier in the Week) …

Discussion: Slate, CNBC, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog and Reason

New York Times:
Trump's Secret Service Has Struggled With Outbreak at Training Center

Discussion: CNN, The Verge, The Hill and Slate

Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:
Chaos President Gets Hit by the Ultimate October Surprise

Discussion: Associated Press, Raw Story and Bangor Daily News

Bonchie / Redstate:
CNN Immediately Dives Into the Gutter Over Trump's COVID Diagnosis

Discussion: ABC News and The Sun

Wall Street Journal:
President Trump Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, Townhall, CNN, Econlib, National Memo and Al Jazeera

Politico:
Trump coronavirus diagnosis leaves lawmakers exposed

Discussion: Vox, National Review, Al Jazeera, Breitbart, The Daily Beast and One America News Network

Associated Press:
White House Official: Trump Experiencing ‘Mild’ Symptoms of Coronavirus After Positive Test

Discussion: Political Wire

Mike LaChance / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion: Anti-Trumpers Celebrate News That President Tests Positive For Coronavirus

Molly Nagle / ABC News:
Concern over Biden's possible exposure to COVID-19 after Trump tests positive

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, Raw Story, Bulwark+, The Daily Caller, OpsLens, Just The News and The Hill

Politico:
Debate moderator Chris Wallace: 'I'm going to have to get a test'

Discussion: Fox News and The Daily Beast

ABC News:
Trump COVID-19 live updates: President has ‘mild symptoms,’ Biden tests negative

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, Axios, Forbes, The Hill, Denver Post, Raw Story, Bangor Daily News, The Guardian, ABC7, FiveThirtyEight, National Memo, The Colorado Sun, Washington Post, National Review, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Trump's positive Covid-19 test throws country into fresh upheaval

Discussion: New Republic, The Week, IJR, Progress Pond, Breitbart, The Root, POLITICUSUSA and Townhall, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump rally-goers urged to get tested if sick

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, New Republic, BuzzFeed News, Associated Press, The Week, Chicago Sun-Times, WSPA-TV, CNBC, Bloomberg, Florida Politics, TMZ.com and The Hill

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel received positive coronavirus test Wednesday, spokesman says

Discussion: Politico, Axios, Townhall and The Hill

Shannon Pettypiece / NBC News:
‘This was avoidable’: Trump falls victim to his own false messaging on coronavirus

Discussion: CNN, Townhall, abc7NY, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Common Dreams

Associated Press: Timeline of Trump's activities in week coronavirus hit home

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

In Profane Rant, Melania Trump Takes Aim at Migrant Children and Critics — The audio recording puts the first lady's frustrations on full display just weeks before President Trump faces the voters in his bid for a second term. — WASHINGTON — The first lady, Melania Trump …

Discussion: National Review, Daily Kos, The Root and CNN

Caroline Kelly / CNN:
Secretly recorded tapes show Melania Trump's frustration at criticism for family separation policy and her bashing of Christmas decorations

Discussion: Vox, Redstate, The Daily Caller, KXAN-TV, National Review, ABC7, Common Dreams, Sputnik News, The Sun, Washington Post, The Week and The Slot

Blake Montgomery / The Daily Beast:
Melania Trump Whines About FLOTUS Role in Secret Recording: ‘Who Gives a F*ck About Christmas Stuff?’

Discussion: The Hill, IJR, Redstate, Breitbart and Forbes

Patrick Marley / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

PATRICK MARLEY — MADISON - No Wisconsin absentee ballots were found in mail discovered in a ditch in the Fox Valley last week, the state's top election official said Thursday. — Three trays of mail were found in a ditch in Greenville last week, and the Outagamie County Sheriff's Office …

Discussion: Raw Story and New York Times

Jane Mayer / New Yorker:

The Secret History of Kimberly Guilfoyle's Departure from Fox — As President Donald Trump heads into the 2020 elections, he faces a daunting gender gap: according to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, he trails Joe Biden by thirty percentage points among female voters.

Discussion: Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Slot, Occupy Democrats and Variety, more at Mediagazer »

Dave Orrick / Twin Cities:

Contact tracing President Trump in Minnesota: Who hung out with him for how long? — Who saw POTUS and for how long? — That was the question on the minds of those in top Minnesota Republican circles Friday morning after news broke overnight that President Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Week and WCCO | CBS Minnesota