# Trump and Melania test positive for COVID-19 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 2, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010 "2020-10-02T05:07:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 31
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/603 "2020-10-03T16:52:27Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Sorry. Even in these difficult times, we can’t relax standards. This statement is disqualified due to the use of the word \*understanding" in reference to trump. And especially because it implies he is capable of _gaining_ understanding. Next player! You’re probably right. But a guy can hope, no? I don’t see anything good coming from him dying (even beyond the fact that I can’t bring myself to wish death on anyone). Pence is more likely to win than Trump. Trump’s supporters and conspiracy-mongers will go bonkers. Rally-around-the-flag, etc. Nah, much better for him to be pulled from the campaign trail for a bit and come out with a “damn, that sucked - wear a mask” mindset. Or at least maybe his support network will. Now, if the 3 infected GOP Senators could have a nice 3-month hospitalization, that would be OK. But again, after that I hope they recover. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/604 "2020-10-03T16:53:30Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > The only thing he’ll have trouble getting is thoughts and prayers. I’m sure he’s getting lots of thoughts and prayers. Not all of them nice. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/605 "2020-10-03T16:55:08Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > So, Trump’s doctor announced he was diagnosed 72 hours ago. The doctor misspoke. He meant to say that they were “in the third day”. At least that’s what’s being reported out now. > **[Coronavirus: 'I’ll be back, I think I’ll be back soon,' says Trump – as it...](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2020/oct/03/donald-trump-covid-19-coronavirus-hospital-white-house-live-latest-news-updates?page=with:block-5f78aa108f08abd321a6bf0f#block-5f78aa108f08abd321a6bf0f)** > > President says ‘\[When\] I came here, I wasn’t feeling so well, but I feel much better now … I think I’ll be back soon’ in four-minute video Still doesn’t explain why the previous source (thought to be Meadows) had a much more negative outlook. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/606 "2020-10-03T16:55:19Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Oh yeah. Spray feces on everything and then nonchalantly breeze out the door saying “See, we told you government doesn’t work.” Then complain that the next administration didn’t clean it up expeditiously enough for the next round of looting. A perfect summary of what’s coming. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/607 "2020-10-03T17:00:04Z")
Lol. So the expert who was being specific got the vagueness wrong, but the press flack being vague want us to depend upon their specificity. Got it. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/608 "2020-10-03T17:01:40Z")
This is where not spending four years relinquishing every scrap of credibility might help a smidge. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/609 "2020-10-03T17:02:57Z")
Also, since it’s been reported that trump was taken to the hospital and received antibody treatment and remdesivir (and that quite a few others in trump’s circle have also tested positive), most doubters have probably changed their minds. Adapting to new info. Whereas the conspiracy theorists on the right continue to hold their beliefs even when contrary evidence is presented. Not saying the left is perfect at all, but IMO it’s not being a conspiracy theorist to doubt any statement that comes from the WH. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/610 "2020-10-03T17:04:37Z")
Absolutely. When you lie about trivial, easily-verified things it’s pretty hard for anybody to believe you about important, difficult-to-verify things. Contradictory reporting doesn’t help either. I guess my tendency (even when dealing with Trump, I know, I know…) is to put a bit more weight on named sources than unnamed ones. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/611 "2020-10-03T17:08:54Z")
When this all first came out, I posted that the skeptic in me thinks he may be faking it. Don’t let anyone believe that that makes me a conspiracy theorist. It means that this man lies about everything, including the weather, and I as usual, questioned his motivations and truthfulness. I suspect that’s how a lot of “left-wing conspiracy theorists” approached this-- with suspicion, not foolishness. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/612 "2020-10-03T17:19:26Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Fuck these guys, Joe. Put the negative ads back on. They and their supporters can go burn in hell. I think it’s smart to pull the negative ads. I don’t care about fairness to a candidate who only knows how to cheat, all I care about is Biden getting more votes. I think he gets more votes by taking the high road, and it costs nothing to let up on Trump while Trump can’t really hit back. I would be 100% behind running constant shade-throwing ads, not mentioning Trump, but mentioning how important it is to take the pandemic seriously. Mention everything Biden’s done to take this seriously and act responsibly, and just leave it there. The comparisons will write themselves. Republicans will of course treat this as a vicious attack, because they howl like scalded dogs if anyone remotely hints at the “A word” (accountability). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/613 "2020-10-03T17:26:26Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Not EVERY group event is going to result in widespread infections. But if you attend an event without incident, that doesn’t mean you were right and the people who are against large events wrong. It just means you got lucky. Once. As with all disasters and clusterfucks, everything goes fine–until it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/614 "2020-10-03T17:39:55Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Absolutely. When you lie about trivial, easily-verified things it’s pretty hard for anybody to believe you about important, difficult-to-verify things. He’s the boy who decried Wolf Blitzer. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/615 "2020-10-03T17:55:41Z")
Do we know how many other senators were at the rose garden ceremony? Do we expect more shoes to drop? I wonder if Republicans will try to keep quiet on senators who test positive but have no symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/616 "2020-10-03T18:17:51Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > My father is not a Trump supporter, but he’s fairly typical for his demographic–70-something American male who thinks he’s invisible. He was never that worried about COVID before this summer. He only wore masks out in public if my mother nagged at him. > > He spent nine days in the hospital with COVID. Ever since, he’s been telling everyone he knows that COVID is no joke. He just got the flu shot for the first time in his life because he doesn’t want to tangle with Mother Nature again. > There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. > –Will Rodgers ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/617 "2020-10-03T18:27:54Z")
President Pence will serve the shortest time in office in US history. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/618 "2020-10-03T18:32:01Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > President Pence will serve the shortest time in office in US history. - [William Henry Harrison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Harrison) > **William Henry Harrison** (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth [president of the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States) in 1841. He died of either [typhoid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoid_fever), [pneumonia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonia), or [paratyphoid fever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paratyphoid_fever) 31 days into his term, becoming the first president to die in office and the shortest-serving president in U.S. history. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/619 "2020-10-03T18:35:20Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Sure, but his handlers know how to manipulate him. And he’s dumb. Hence the whole, “Mr. President, would you like to inspect the bunker?” situation a few months back Sounds like Fluffy’s [tour manager](https://youtu.be/bVw3iJ1lBkM?t=87). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/620 "2020-10-03T18:41:24Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > One of the things that disgusts me most about this White House is the fucking First Whore herself. > > Her address to the nation during the GOP convention was just wrong on so many levels. To have someone who sounds like a Kremlin propagandist using the White House - the same White House that was once occupied by iconic families like the Roosevelts, the Kennedys, the Eisenhowers, and the _ **Regans** _ - to address the nation about anything, much less to use it as a political prop, was just sickening. The _Regans_? I _knew_ there was something demonic about that administration! ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/621 "2020-10-03T18:43:30Z")
That bastard Don Regan - he was the evil genius behind it all, using the old actor as a puppet. lol ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/622 "2020-10-03T18:46:11Z")
It could happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010.md?page=32)