# 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:** 37
**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 4, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/723 "2020-10-04T01:35:56Z")
Fair enough ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/724 "2020-10-04T01:36:32Z")
For Covid, atv[quote=“DSeid, post:696, topic:922010, full:true”] Apparently Rudy’ initial test was [negative](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-trump-rudy-giuliani-girlfriend-20201002-7motajw5ance3jwvenb6ewt6de-story.html%3foutputType=amp). [/quote] For Covid, at least > **[Rudy Giuliani Tests Positive For Slew Of Obscure Bat Diseases Unrelated To...](https://www.theonion.com/rudy-giuliani-tests-positive-for-slew-of-obscure-bat-di-1845255014)** > > NEW YORK—After undergoing tests to rule out the possibility of coronavirus infection, sources close to Rudy Giuliani confirmed Friday that the attorney tested positive for several dozen obscure bat diseases completely unrelated to Covid-19. “As of... I did check his Twitter feed and he’s convinced he’ll be OK because he’s taking Hydroxychloroquine. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/725 "2020-10-04T01:40:31Z")
> **[GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Went to Oktoberfest Party While Awaiting COVID-19 Test...](https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-sen-ron-johnson-went-to-oktoberfest-party-after-testing-positive-for-covid-19)** > > He insists he stayed 12 feet away from guests and only took his mask off when it was time to address the crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/726 "2020-10-04T01:49:38Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > On 9/11, the Secret Service ordered Dick Cheney to the White House bunker. It was quite clear he had no say in the matter. I don’t think that quote doesn’t make it clear, but another from the article does. "President Bush protested, but ultimately, if the Secret Service felt the situation could not be made safe, the president couldn’t override them. As Wilkerson put it, “[T]he Secret Service has to protect the president. The wishes of that person that day are secondary to what the law expects of us.” I’m still curious about the law that gives the Secret Service the authority to override the President in times of crisis. 18 U.S. Code § 3056, referenced in that article, doesn’t say anything like that. The article says that Bush protested, but I wonder what would have happened if he’d given them an explicit order. Based on that quote, it sounds like he’s saying they still would have refused. The other part I wonder about is the medical bit - Expano said that the doctors are likewise able to override the President’s wishes in the interest of his health. ---
**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 4, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/727 "2020-10-04T02:11:19Z")
I think people should take a deep breath on the conspiracies. Trump is getting the absolute best healthcare in the world and he will likely pull through. The video is probably real with perhaps a few minor edits to make it look better. Let’s be better than the pizzagate people. ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/728 "2020-10-04T02:12:30Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > No we don’t. Not unless we actually mean 72 hours. Well, several of the ones I know do. Most of them have a military tie either currently or in their past, that might make a difference but I don’t know why it would. They absolutely translate days into hours on a very regular basis. I have many times heard one or another say: “See you in 24 hours to redress that wound” or when reporting to others: “Patient states they have kept no food down for 12 hours” when the patent said they have been vomiting since breakfast. It might not be how you convey information but it is something I have observed (okay not often, but) routinely. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/729 "2020-10-04T02:14:03Z")
Meme on a friend’s facebook: Despite any personal or political differences, we should all endeavor to show the same amount of sympathy and respect that they showed the McCain family ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/730 "2020-10-04T02:25:29Z")
Many would say “for 12 hours” instead of “since breakfast” if it has been 12 hours. Precision is important in that context. I highly doubt your friends would say “for 12 hours” as a way of saying “all morning” with actual time of vomiting being 6 hours. None would say “72 hours” when the actual time period was less than 48 hours, as equal to coming up on the third day. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/731 "2020-10-04T02:43:57Z")
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/us/politics/trump-covid-updates.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/us/politics/trump-covid-updates.html) > Just minutes after the president’s doctors painted a rosy picture of his condition on television, Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, gave reporters outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center a far more sober assessment off camera, calling Mr. Trump’s vital signs worrisome and warning that the next two days would be pivotal to the outcome of the illness. > > “The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning, and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care,” Mr. Meadows told the reporters, asking not to be identified by name. “We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.” > > In keeping with the ground rules he had set, Mr. Meadows’s remarks were attributed, in a pool report sent to White House journalists, to a person familiar with the president’s health. But a video posted online captured Mr. Meadows approaching the pool reporters outside Walter Reed after the doctors’ televised briefing and asking to speak off the record, making it clear who the unnamed source was. > > The comments infuriated the president, according to people close to the situation, and he intervened directly to counter the perception that he was sicker than the White House had admitted. Within hours, he posted a message on Twitter saying, “I am feeling well!” and called his friend and personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani to have him convey a message to the outside world. “I’m going to beat this,” Mr. Trump told him. I wonder if Mark Meadows’s days are numbered. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/732 "2020-10-04T02:49:48Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I wonder if Mark Meadows’s days are numbered. Aren’t anyone’s working for Trump? ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/733 "2020-10-04T02:53:44Z")
Once again it shows that Trump does not have the political genius some attribute to him. He is either going to die or survive. And if he survives and was very sick, he can then brag about how his great genes got him through- “I was at death’s door and fought back so I could continue to make America great. No one has ever seen anything like it!” ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/734 "2020-10-04T03:03:08Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > No, I’m not going to get over it - not when she, who most likely had an illegal status herself at one point, mocks the plight of migrants who weren’t as fortunate as she was to marry into wealth and power. She wants to be thought of as a First Lady, well she ain’t my first lady. She tears up Jackie O’s rose garden. She mocks the less fortunate. Fuck that. She needs to go back home to Slovenia. That shouldn’t be too difficult. According to Bill Maher, Trump still has the box that she came in, in case of the need for a return or exchange. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/735 "2020-10-04T06:13:02Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I just hope we get renewed for 2021. Unlikely. The ratings for 2020 have been dreadful. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/736 "2020-10-04T06:45:38Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Unlikely. The ratings for 2020 have been dreadful. I think you’ve mistaken them for the reviews. Some I’ve seen: “Totally unbelievable plot. Try harder next time.” “Even villains should be sympathetic to some degree. Bad characterization.” "Idiot plot, in which all the major players on one side are idiots. " “Total downer, but we’re hoping the final episode pulls it out.” ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/737 "2020-10-04T06:55:28Z")
We now know Chump engaged in closed-room campaigning even after he started feeling symptoms and probably at least suspected he was Covid-positive. If I were one of the people he was in contact with on those, I’d be suing the administration. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/738 "2020-10-04T08:08:27Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I’m not attacking Melania Trump for having a foreign accent; …_[snip]_…That’s why I bring up the foreign accent. Her accent is irrelevant to her being a waste of oxygen. Yes, it does make it look like you’re attacking her for being foreign. > [@asahi](#): > > …it’s the fact that someone in her position ought to have an elevated sense of humanity. Moreover, she of all people ought to be sympathetic to people trying to flee a desperate situation. Why? Melania was not “fleeing a desperate situation” when she came to the US, and she was here before she met Donald Trump. She has no sympathy for the desperate because she has never been that sort of desperate. The two are made for each other, lacking human empathy. Maybe we she stop drafting the president’s spouse into a job - no one voted for her and rumor has long had it she never wanted the job. So why don’t we get someone who actually wants it? FLOTUS has no standing in law, it’s not official, just custom. We’d be better off with a professional “White House Hostess” at least this time around. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/739 "2020-10-04T08:15:27Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > Once again it shows that Trump does not have the political genius some attribute to him. He is either going to die or survive. And if he survives and was very sick, he can then brag about how his great genes got him through- > > “I was at death’s door and fought back so I could continue to make America great. No one has ever seen anything like it!” Yeah, that’s going to be real convincing if he winds up being wheeled out of Walter Reed with an oxy bottle hanging off the wheelchair. “Survive” doesn’t always mean “restored to prior health” with covid. He could survive and wind up debilitated, conscious but no longer physically up to any job at all. Sure, we’ve had a president in a wheelchair before (elected four times!) but that was a guy who entered the office with a disability (even if the full extent was not know to the general public) and was able, aside from being unable to walk, to display great vigor. Hard to do that when you’ve got an oxygen hook up and you’re physically weak and constantly exhausted. Not to mention how that sort of impairment would f\*\*\* with Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/740 "2020-10-04T09:57:16Z")
No Presidential tweets in sixteen hours. I am keeping track. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/741 "2020-10-04T10:07:05Z")
No Presidential tweets in four years. I’ve been keeping track too. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/742 "2020-10-04T10:11:13Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’m not sure assuming a compulsive liar is lying is really so much a conspiracy theory as common sense for an immediate response. That cry has died down a bit now that more details are being released. And that is why it’s not a conspiracy theory. Conspiracy theories get stronger with more evidence against them, as people assume more and more people are in on the conspiracy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010.md?page=38)