Trump, first lady awaiting test results after aide Hope Hicks tests positive for coronavirus
President Trump confirmed on Thursday night that Hope Hicks, one of his top aides, tested positive for the coronavirus, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that he is awaiting the results of his own test.
Hicks "wears masks a lot but she tested positive," Trump said. "Then I just went out with a test ... the first lady just went out with a test also. So, whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know." Trump said he spends "a lot of time with Hope," and she is "tremendous." She is also "a very warm person," he added. "She has a hard time, when soldiers and law enforcement comes up to her, you know, she wants to treat them great, not say, 'Stay away, I can't get near you.' It's a very, very tough disease."
Hicks traveled with Trump to the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday as well as a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday. She was spotted by reporters on multiple occasions this week not wearing a mask, including once while in a van with Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller and campaign adviser Jason Miller.
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After Trump's Hannity appearance, his public schedule for Friday was released, CNN reports, and it shows the president attending a fundraiser at his Trump International Hotel in Washington and then heading out to Sanford, Florida, for a campaign rally. Trump has since tweeted that "the first lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!"
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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