memeorandum: The Day Covid-19 Came to Donald Trump's White House (Bloomberg)

10:40 AM ET, October 3, 2020

Top Items:

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump campaign manager tests positive for Covid-19 — Donald Trump's campaign manager has tested positive for Covid-19, dealing another blow to his reelection effort on a day that saw the president and the head of the Republican National Committee report contracting the disease as well.

Discussion: NPR, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Breitbart, The Hill, Political Wire, Mediaite, Axios, Slate, Twitchy, New York Post, CNN and Forbes

Washington Post:

Invincibility punctured by infection: How the coronavirus spread in Trump's White House — The ceremony in the White House Rose Garden last Saturday was a triumphal flashback to the Before Times — before public health guidelines restricted mass gatherings, before people were urged to wear masks and socially distance.

Discussion: Vox, CNN, Raw Story, Politico, Bloomberg, Bangor Daily News, Washington Times, Twin Cities, Political Wire, Daily Kos, Eschaton and NBC Boston

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

“There Is Zero Reason to Panic”: On Trump's Coronavirus Case and the Shredded Credibility of His White House — A report from Day One after the President's diagnosis. — As Thursday began, it seemed like just another day of Trumpian meltdown in the nation's capital.

Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:

The White House relied on a rapid test, but used it in a way it was not intended. — For months, the White House's strategy for keeping President Trump and his inner circle safe has been to screen all White House visitors with a rapid test. — But one product they use, Abbott's ID Now …

Discussion: Slate, CNBC and The Week

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

Trump Infects America — “At the best of times, Trumpworld operates with all the strategic direction of a chicken with its head cut off,” a senior Republican official told me. “Right now, they're operating like a chicken with its head cut off, lit on fire, and thrown off a cliff.”

Discussion: OpsLens, Roll Call and Washington Post

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Three White House journalists test positive for coronavirus after closely covering Trump — Journalists who work at the White House have been on high alert about the coronavirus since March, but the issue took on even greater urgency Friday with a mini-outbreak in the press room following …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Hill and Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:

What I Saw at the White House — On the White House grounds this morning, senior West Wing aides walked around without masks. They spoke with the press without masks. They huddled privately with one another and didn't wear masks. — When I visited the White House in August …

Discussion: CNBC, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, Vox, Politico, Yahoo News and The Week

Washington Post:

Trump seemed to defy the laws of science and disease. Then, the coronavirus caught up with him. — President Trump contracted the novel coronavirus after months in which he and people around him — his aides, his children, even his golf-club members — avoided taking basic steps to prevent …

Discussion: Reuters, Mediaite and Daily Kos

New York Times:

Covid-19 Live Updates: Trump Is Hospitalized as More Aides Test Positive — The president is at the Walter Reed military hospital for what is expected to be a stay of a few days. His campaign manager is among the latest senior aides also found to be infected.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Florida Politics, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, ABC7 and Associated Press

David K. Li / NBC News:

11 positive coronavirus tests traced to presidential debate, Cleveland officials say — At least 11 positive coronavirus tests can be traced to organizers of this week's presidential debate in Cleveland, city officials said Friday. — The city's announcement came after President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Straight from City Hall, Politico, New York Post, Forbes, Slate, OpsLens, WKYC-TV and The Daily Caller

Bloomberg:
The Day Covid-19 Came to Donald Trump's White House

Discussion: The Dispatch, Florida Politics, Raw Story and Wired

CNN:
There will be more space between Pence and Harris at next week's debate

Discussion: Bloomberg, Deadline, WCDC-TV and CBS Philly

CNBC:
Trump ‘doing very well,’ has started Remdesivir therapy, White House physician says

Discussion: KXAN-TV, Conservative News Today, Mediaite, abc7NY and Vox

CNN:
READ: White House physician says Trump is taking Remdesivir and ‘doing very well’

Discussion: Fox News, Political Wire and Slate

CNN:
Journalists who work at the White House are testing positive for Covid-19

Discussion: NBC Boston, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Vanity Fair and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:
Cavalier White House approach to COVID catches up to Trump

Discussion: Twin Cities and Political Wire

Politico:
Debate commission accedes to Biden campaign's ‘health and safety’ objections for VP debate

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Post, Sputnik News, CNN, Breitbart, The Nevada Independent, New York Times, Political Wire and The Daily Beast

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Cliff Sims, who wrote tell-all White House memoir, joins spy office

Discussion: Axios, Breitbart and The Hill

Axios:
The aftermath of Trump's COVID-19 infection

Discussion: New York Times, Breitbart, Raw Story, Politico, One America News Network, ABC News, The Hill, Fox News and New York Times

NBC News:
Trump will go to Walter Reed hospital after Covid-19 diagnosis

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Conservative News Today, Twin Cities, NBC Boston, OutKick, Essence, Reuters, The Hill, The Daily Beast and The Guardian

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Trump taken to Walter Reed medical center and will be hospitalized ‘for the next few days’

Discussion: Variety, Washington Post, Breitbart, Fox News, Roll Call, Washington Times, Vox, National Review, The Daily Beast, The Hill, The Daily Caller, The Mahablog and NBC New York

New York Times:
The Busy Week When the President Met the Virus

Discussion: Defense One, NPR, UPI, Voice of America and The Hill

The Daily Beast:

'It's Just F*ck-Up After F*ck-up'—Trump's COVID Advisers at Their Breaking Point — With the president infected, the group responsible for combating the virus remains a mess. At the center of the drama is one man: Dr. Scott Atlas. — The announcement that President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Forbes, Raw Story, ABC7, Bangor Daily News, The Slot, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA, Associated Press and The Week

Washington Post:

Coronavirus and Fox News collide, and Chris Wallace is at the center of it — Fox News is home to some of President Trump's biggest cheerleaders, which has paid off for the network in the form of exclusive interviews with the commander in chief and his aides who typically shun other networks.

Discussion: New York Times

Washington Post:

Trump's debate guests refused to wear masks, flouting rules — A little more than two days before she reported testing positive for the coronavirus, first lady Melania Trump — as well as the president's sons, daughters and several guests — violated safety protocols at the first presidential debate …

Discussion: Fox News

Ed Yong / The Atlantic:
Biden's Negative Test Result Isn't Enough to Say He's in the Clear

Discussion: Baltimore Sun, New York Post, Twin Cities, IJR, Real Clear Politics, WCDC-TV, OpsLens, National Review, Wired and CBS Philly

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Looking for a single responsible Republican in the Senate — The Post reported Friday night that a second Republican senator and member of the Judiciary Committee, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Like his colleague Mike Lee of Utah, Tillis vowed to self-isolate for 10 days.

USA Today:
2 GOP senators test positive for COVID-19 after Trump; Democrats say it's ‘premature’ to move forward with Barrett confirmation hearings

Discussion: The Hill, Vox, NBC News, The Daily Poster, The Nevada Independent and The Week

New York Times:
Trump's Diagnosis Imperils Quick Supreme Court Confirmation Timeline

Discussion: CNBC, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Politico and National Review

Krishnadev Calamur / NPR:
Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court Confirmation Will Move Forward, McConnell Says

Discussion: WSPA-TV, OpsLens, The Hill and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jerry Holt / Star Tribune:

Minnesota Republicans fly Delta home from D.C. after COVID-19 exposure — U.S. Reps. Stauber, Emmer and Hagedorn appear to have violated the airline's policy, although they tested negative for the virus. — Video (00:29) : Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Orion Rummler / Axios:

Sen. Ron Johnson tests positive for coronavirus — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday after returning to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 29 and coming into contact with someone who had contracted the virus, spokesperson Ben Voelkel said in a statement on Saturday.

Discussion: Reuters

Beth LeBlanc / The Detroit News:

BETH LEBLANC , CRAIG MAUGER , MELISSA NANN BURKE | The Detroit News … The state's high court ruled 4-3 that a state law allowing the governor to declare emergencies and keep them in place without legislative input — the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act — is unconstitutional.

Discussion: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Power Line, The Hill, Detroit Free Press and CNN

Jack Beyrer / Washington Free Beacon:

Hickenlooper Calls China a ‘Great Nation’ — Colorado Senate hopeful John Hickenlooper praised China as a “great nation” deserving of American respect and told voters that the Chinese do not seek global dominance. — The former Democratic governor ignored China's recent military saber-rattling …

Discussion: Breitbart