# 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:** 49
**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 5, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/965 "2020-10-05T01:25:52Z")
Had Hillary won, Michele was expected to be tapped for something on women’s rights. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/966 "2020-10-05T01:27:12Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Will doc be fired? Why would he be fired? ---
**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 5, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/967 "2020-10-05T01:27:56Z")
Another tough article. > **[Trump Didn’t Even Try to Keep His Own People Safe](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/trump-reckless/616610/)** > > The president apparently took no measures to protect his political advisers, aides, and donors, and largely left them in the dark once he had tested positive. ---
**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 5, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/968 "2020-10-05T01:28:04Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > American doctors can no longer release information against their patient’s will. And DJT is strong-willed. The president of the USA is _ **not** _ entitled to withhold – or lie about – medical conditions that may impair his performance in office. This is why medical briefings on a president’s condition are always held. One must expect them to be complete and truthful about all relevant conditions. If he wants medical privacy, to which ordinary private citizens are certainly entitled, he is free to become an ordinary private citizen. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/969 "2020-10-05T01:28:21Z")
Because he criticized the president. I am wondering the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/970 "2020-10-05T01:30:39Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Because he criticized the president. So what? He appears to be employed by George Washington University Hospital. Why would GWU fire him for criticizing the President? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/971 "2020-10-05T01:33:19Z")
Because people get fired for much less every day. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/972 "2020-10-05T01:35:47Z")
[https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/10/04/nj-officials-contact-people-trump-event-bedminster/?fbclid=IwAR3qo6n0P-in7UA5HfFF4kTOG-\_wFbmwdpfCINIJrJ68uclTx7C5AB2-tio](https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/10/04/nj-officials-contact-people-trump-event-bedminster/?fbclid=IwAR3qo6n0P-in7UA5HfFF4kTOG-_wFbmwdpfCINIJrJ68uclTx7C5AB2-tio) ---
**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 5, 2020, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/973 "2020-10-05T01:38:25Z")
I don’t get it - why do they advise all those people to self-quarantine for 14 days, but Pence merrily goes to church last night??? Unbelievable. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/974 "2020-10-05T01:40:36Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > So what? He appears to be employed by George Washington University Hospital. Why would GWU fire him for criticizing the President? He appears to me to have a joint appointment at GW and Walter Reed. I rather think that Trump will try to get him fired from his military job. As a GW assistant professor, he lacks tenure and so could be at theoretical risk there as well. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/975 "2020-10-05T01:41:10Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Because people get fired for much less every day. I would be astounded if GWU/GWUH (where he appears to be a Section Chief and Fellowship Director, as well as an Assistant Professor) fired him for no more than exercising his first amendment rights. The faculty and students would set the campus on fire. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/976 "2020-10-05T01:41:18Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > [@BobLibDem](#): > > > > I have no reason to doubt that his doctor is technically proficient. How could he allow himself to withhold information and give the pollyanna updates knowing full well just how sick his patient was/is? > > Seriously? > > American doctors can no longer release information against their patient’s will. And DJT is strong-willed. > > I predict that [this doc who did speak up](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/519562-walter-reed-attending-physician-swipes-at-trump-for-motorcade-visit) will be fired. Then he should have said, “HIPPA rules forbid me disclosing this detail” whenever asked about something that the patient doesn’t want disclosed. That is fine. Lying is not. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/977 "2020-10-05T01:44:20Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > “HIPPA rules forbid me disclosing this detail” Totally pedantic, but it’s “HIPAA,” for “The **H** ealth **I** nsurance **P** ortability and **A** ccountability **A** ct.” But, that said, it’s very commonly misspelled “HIPPA.” ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/978 "2020-10-05T01:45:00Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Time for me to hang it up for the evening. I first read that as “a solo C-17 flying out of the Pope’s ass.” It’s still early in my time zone, but this afternoon I read a post on this board that said “that was Donald Trump” and read it as “the late Donald Trump” !!! Apparently my bed time needs to be pretty early. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/979 "2020-10-05T01:45:07Z")
Maybe Trump is circling the drain but he’s in denial? I could see him getting this drug that makes him temporarily better, then deciding he feels so great that the effect will be permanent for him. Because he’s, you know, special. So let’s have a mini-parade…dozens are waiting. The WH gift shop is hard at work already, so that proves it’ll all be ok. I’m afraid to ask how the 'pubs are going to spin this. As people around him end up dying, how will they explain it away? @monstro posted this about NJ officials contacting people. So not only did Trump not notify them then, his admin is still shirking the responsibility. And CNN was saying nobody’s briefing Pelosi et al. They’re watching TV, learning the status from that just like Average Joe Citizen. > **[Pelosi says she's not being briefed on Trump's health | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/04/politics/pelosi-trump-coronavirus/index.html)** > > House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday said she has not been briefed on President Donald Trump's health since his Covid-19 diagnosis despite her position as second in the presidential line of succession behind Vice President Mike Pence. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/980 "2020-10-05T01:46:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The president of the USA is _ **not** _ entitled to withhold – or lie about – medical conditions that may impair his performance in office. I would agree that he should not withhold and lie, and especially should not ask others to withhold and lie. But, in practice, he can do all that. The only recourse is to vote him out, and if he convinces enough people that the ballots are a disaster, even voting him out possibly won’t work. ---
**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 5, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/981 "2020-10-05T01:48:31Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > As a GW assistant professor, he lacks tenure and so could be at theoretical risk there as well. FTR, an assistant professor can certainly have tenure, and often does (unless the rules in the US are somehow bizarrely different than everywhere else). As for the doc being dismissed from Walter Reed, I can certainly see the toddler-in-chief stomping his feet and threatening to hold his breath until proper revenge has been wrought upon the doctor. ---
**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 5, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/982 "2020-10-05T01:49:25Z")
Also posted in Clusterfuck thread. > [@Trump has COVID!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-covid/922022/408): > > The Atlantic ([https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/a/theatlantic/img/lacroix/favicon.fb04af6390eb.ico](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/static/a/theatlantic/img/lacroix/favicon.fb04af6390eb.ico)) [The Atlantic – 4 Oct 20](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/trump-reckless/616610/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%2BTheAtlantic%2B%28The%2BAtlantic%2B-%2BMaster%2BFeed%29) > > ### [Trump Didn’t Even Try to Keep His Own People Safe](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/trump-reckless/616610/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%2BTheAtlantic%2B%28The%2BAtlantic%2B-%2BMaster%2BFeed%29) > > The president apparently took no measures to protect his political advisers, aides, and donors, and largely left them in the dark once he had tested positive. > > > Though it has thrown the nation into chaos, the fact that Donald Trump has contracted the coronavirus should not be especially surprising—after all, he has been careless about measures to control the virus, and protect his own health, for months. Nor should it come as a surprise that the White House is offering partial, misleading, and contradictory information. That has been a reliable theme of the Trump presidency. > > > > What does still shock is the recklessness with which Trump treated the health and lives of those closest to him. Despite being potentially exposed to a virus [he described in February as “deadly stuff,”](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/09/trump-coronavirus-deadly-downplayed-risk-410796) the president apparently took no measures to protect his political advisers, aides, and donors, and largely left them in the dark once he had tested positive. > > Wrong, Atlantic. That’s not even remotely shocking. He has never indicated that he gives a rat’s ass about anyone but himself. > > > At every turn, it has been possible for some of Trump’s supporters to comfort themselves: _Well, yes, he’s disdainful of_ some _people who back him; I am one of the chosen few whom he truly respects_ . The reckless disregard the president has shown even for his closest aides and donors this week should dispel that impression. It doesn’t matter how close with the president you are—there should be no expectation that he will make any effort to protect you from a deadly disease, or that this administration will act to inform you or help you if you’ve been exposed. After this week, why would anyone believe that Trump has their best interests at heart? > > Ask those suckers and losers who are gathered outside the hospital hoping to catch a glimpse of Dear Leader. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/983 "2020-10-05T01:51:36Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > FTR, an assistant professor can certainly have tenure, and often does (unless the rules in the US are somehow bizarrely different than everywhere else). That is my understanding, as well (having had several members of my circle of college friends become tenure-track professors). Assistant professors usually don’t have tenure, but the title of associate professor typically denotes having received tenure. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/984 "2020-10-05T01:53:47Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > FTR, an assistant professor can certainly have tenure, and often does (unless the rules in the US are somehow bizarrely different than everywhere else). The most common pattern here is that tenure comes when promoted from assistant professor to associate professor. However, rules vary, especially on the medical side. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010.md?page=48) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010.md?page=50)