# 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:** 40
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/785 "2020-10-04T15:00:35Z")
The problem for Trump in trying to “milk this” is that he’s psychologically incapable of admitting to himself or to others that he’s ever experienced a single moment of weakness or vulnerability. That’s why he’s (reportedly) furious with Meadows for putting out that his condition was serious. He can’t play this for sympathy without admitting that he’s actually sick. And he can’t really pursue an “I overcame COVID” narrative without admitting that at some point it really was some kind of threat to him. Right now I expect that he’s in a state of panic and convinced that he must PROJECT STRENGTH at all costs. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/786 "2020-10-04T15:02:54Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > This place has become a crackpot conspiracy site. He faked his test. He was wearing an oxygen cannula under his mask. OMG he is wearing the same clothes its staged. Nah. I do believe he has COVID. Or something. But it’s reasonable to look at anything that comes from him or his administration with skepticism. They lie about everything. They can’t seem to help themselves even when it’s to their detriment. “No mom I didn’t steal a cookie, and besides, it wasn’t very good” Bunch of morons. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/787 "2020-10-04T15:04:23Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > This place has become a crackpot conspiracy site. He faked his test. He was wearing an oxygen cannula under his mask. OMG he is wearing the same clothes its staged. It’s been a looooong four years with very little in the way of good news. People are just finally blowing off steam. Can’t let MAGATS and Q-Anons have all the fun, now can we? ---
**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, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/788 "2020-10-04T15:06:41Z")
Here’s a question: why isn’t Trump wearing a mask in those pictures? He has COVID and he’s inside. Is there any reasonable answer? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/789 "2020-10-04T15:14:18Z")
Everyone else must have been in a full body condom. Aliens - “It’s the only way to be sure” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/790 "2020-10-04T15:24:52Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Here’s a question: why isn’t Trump wearing a mask in those pictures? He has COVID and he’s inside. Is there any reasonable answer? Propaganda, one guy I know that is a former soldier got from the pictures the impression that Trump is back in the White House, working, unlike other weaklings out there. Yeah, we know that he is still at Walter Reed; but those pictures with no context, as it is usually seen in social media and right wing sources of information, are set to give the wrong impressions to many. Regarding how to deal with the pandemic, and how capable Trump is. In any case, even after he got the wrong impression as intended, the military guy I know said that he is going to vote for Biden. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/791 "2020-10-04T15:25:11Z")
Let’s Occam’s Razor this. Which is likelier: That Trump has Covid, or that this is all some elaborate conspiracy plot? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/792 "2020-10-04T15:27:21Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > This place has become a crackpot conspiracy site. He faked his test. He was wearing an oxygen cannula under his mask. OMG he is wearing the same clothes its staged. Given that the President of the United States was being transported to the hospital with COVID symptoms, it would be negligent for EMT’s _not_ to hook him up to supplemental O2 right away. But of course Donny couldn’t be seen as weak or sick, so it would have been removed or hidden for cameras. (Just like FDR and his wheelchair.) Very few people here think he faked his test. I see one Canadian who keeps bringing it up, for example. His photos were obviously “staged”, as he’s signing a blank sheet of paper, and then 10 minutes later “working” on the same materials in a different room. I don’t think the photos were taken ahead of time, if that’s what you’re referring to. ---
**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, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/793 "2020-10-04T15:29:22Z")
Often patients are not masked. Providers and visitors though should be wearing N-95s and limiting close contact to as necessary. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/794 "2020-10-04T15:29:31Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > It only looks bad on him UNTIL he bounces back and boasts his strength and how he was right, it’s overblown! The markets will rebound crazy! > > It would explain why a lot of people who knew they were exposed to him, didn’t really act like they had been. Going home to families, flying commercial, etc. It explains why he didn’t let on for the first 24hrs and just kept on interacting with people without regard. > > I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying I remain sceptical is all Aren’t there some Canadian conspiracy theories you can go work on? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/795 "2020-10-04T15:37:53Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Let’s Occam’s Razor this. Which is likelier: That Trump has Covid, or that this is all some elaborate conspiracy plot? I think he has Covid, and having the best care in the world is likely to save him. However, just like 911 the conspiracy is not that Bin Laden did not commit the crime (he did) the conspiracy comes later when the President uses the ensuing fear to invade an unrelated country. I don’t expect something so sinister to come from the current president, but that he will use Covid to show strength after his spectacular failure to protect others, and continue to undermine proper responses to the pandemic? That does not require a conspiracy theory. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/796 "2020-10-04T15:39:07Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > This place has become a crackpot conspiracy site. He faked his test. He was wearing an oxygen cannula under his mask. OMG he is wearing the same clothes its staged. This administration is not known for telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Under the circumstances, it’s not unreasonable to speculate about how the actual situation may differ from what we have been presented with. ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/797 "2020-10-04T15:47:52Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Don’t you dare call them stupid. They’re pretty sensitive folks. I called them ‘followers’ and triggered a lengthy rant about Trump as the hand of God and how they are LEADERS and much much more. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/798 "2020-10-04T15:52:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This administration is not known for telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Under the circumstances, it’s not unreasonable to speculate about how the actual situation may differ from what we have been presented with. Oh silly me. I thought this was a place setup to fight ignorance. I completely missed the memo that we had turned into the bastard lovechild of r/politics and [Townhall.com](http://Townhall.com). 🙄 Apparently by “the Dope” means you have to be on it to post here. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/799 "2020-10-04T16:02:43Z")
1. Has Trump recently expressed any personal concern for direct aides and associates with Covid, or anyone outside his immediate family? I’d like to know. I’m not going to start reading tweets. 2. The _New York Times_ has a weekly news quiz. One question this week claimed Putin was (i) forcing people to go into quarantine for two weeks before talking to him, (ii) sending them through a tunnel of disinfectant and (iii) forcing them to wear full body protective gear. It is possible this is much exaggerated. Has anyone seen anything credible to confirm this? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/800 "2020-10-04T16:08:27Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Apparently by “the Dope” means you have to be on it to post here. Well, you have some options here: 1. Post some factual details, or even logical suppositions that support whatever theory you have. Engage in good faith debate. 2. Post insults about the posters here. 3. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/801 "2020-10-04T16:14:50Z")
I’m sorry. Did you not see where I said, ‘I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just sceptical’? I thought we were just having a conversation. Was pretty clear it was just how I felt. Not a fact, not a movement. And I didn’t realize my being a Canadian dismissed my skepticism. I leave you to it! Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/802 "2020-10-04T16:15:17Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I’m encountering Trump supporters on Facebook claiming that “Trump was the most protected man in the world and yet he still got Covid, so any precautions against Covid are useless and hopeless.” I pointed out that Trump was NOT ‘protected,’ he was interacting with thousands more people than the average American would, but got a laugh emoticon in response. I saw this, too. Blows my mind. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > Don’t you dare call them stupid. Oh, they’re way past stupid. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This administration is not known for telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Understatement is not called for here. What you meant was, _“Virtually every statement that comes out of trump and/or the administration is a bald-faced lie.”_ In the last month before the election, let’s take off the gloves, okay? This worries me: > **[What Bolsonaro’s COVID-19 Case Tells Us About Trump’s](https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/10/donald-trump-jair-bolsonaro-coronavirus/616602/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2BTheAtlantic%2B%28The%2BAtlantic%2B-%2BMaster%2BFeed%29)** > > Donald Trump’s political cousin in Brazil has followed the populist playbook to a T. It’s worked wonders for him. Bolsonaro survived it and his ratings went up, as he could now brag that his invincibility has been validated. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/803 "2020-10-04T16:16:03Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Oh silly me. I thought this was a place setup to fight ignorance. Please do! Explain him signing his name with a Sharpie on a blank sheet of paper in two different photo ops. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/804 "2020-10-04T16:24:57Z")
In today’s evasive press conference, the doctor can’t remember whether Trump was given oxygen yesterday (which is impossible to believe, and obviously he would say “no” if he wasn’t given oxygen, so we can conclude that he was). And, he is on dexamethasone, which is not a drug given to deal with COVID, it is a drug given to deal with the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome that COVID causes. It is recommended for patients with "[severe and critical COVID-19"](https://www.jwatch.org/fw117002/2020/09/02/who-recommends-corticosteroids-severe-covid-19-after). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010.md?page=41)