Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

It’s the corruption, stupid.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

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We are aware of all internet traditions.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

You cannot shame the shameless.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

I did not have this on my fuck 2024 bingo card.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

People are weird.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

“Loving your country does not mean lying about it’s history.”

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

You are here: Home / Politics / America / Breaking: The President of the United States Has Tested Positive For COVID-19

Breaking: The President of the United States Has Tested Positive For COVID-19

by | 434 Comments

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Given this diagnosis, the Vice President, due to his ongoing proximity to the President and Hope Hicks, should also be quarantining until he gets two negative tests. I have no idea if that is going to happen. But right now the national security of the United States is at very high risk.

I agree with Dr. Rainer. And yes, I know, I’m not a medical doctor.

Given that Vice President Biden, Dr. Biden, and a number of others were all in proximity to the President, Hope Hicks, and other members of the President’s entourage during the debate on Tuesday, I expect that we will be informed tomorrow about precautions being taken by Vice President Biden, Dr. Biden, and other members of the Biden-Harris campaign team. The President’s family members and entourage on Tuesday refused to wear masks in the debate hall on Tuesday despite having agreed to that stipulation in advance. It is possible, but I don’t know how probable, that one or more of the other people in attendance on Tuesday has been infected. COVID-19 does not care about partisan political affiliation.

I would also expect that the vice presidential debate and at least the second presidential debate will either be cancelled or rescheduled.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

434Comments

  2. 2.

    Gravenstone

    Let the mayhem commence. Who will be the first to accuse either the Biden campaign or Democrats in general of intentionally infecting them?

  6. 6.

    The Dangerman

    Wow. I didn’t think 2020 could get any more weird.

    Just because it happens to all sorts of people, rich and powerful, poor and not, I’ll share I tested positive 8 days ago. I have zero symptoms.

  7. 7.

    Felanius Kootea

    Shit; I hope he didn’t give it to Biden.  Irresponsible freak holding rallies in the middle of a pandemic. Now his supporters will know it’s not a hoax.

  14. 14.

    lamh36

    Like many Black grandmothers used to say “God don’t like ugly…”

     

    I say…the Karma gods may not strike quickly, but when it does, it’s strikes strong and true!

  15. 15.

    Sebastian

    And the motherfucker didn’t shut up during the debate, spewing not only bullshit but COVID, too.

    As I said on an earlier thread, I wish him to survive but lose his ability to speak caused by a shitty ventilator procured from one of his shit cronies.

    I want him to watch everything, his defeat and destruction, helpless like Hector Salamanca in Breaking Bad.

  16. 16.

    Juju

    I hope Joe and Jill Biden are ok, as well as anyone else who came in contact with Trump and his minions, but Trump’s positive test result blows my lizard alien with a human skin theory.

  17. 17.

    West of the Cascades

    Fuck Trump. Fuck his family who wouldn’t wear masks in Cleveland. Fuck them all. Fuck all the people who support this shit head. I can’t imagine this is good for him politically in any way, unless this is just a ruse to show how harmless it is if you catch it.

  19. 19.

    Martin

    I retract my previous comment. I hope Ms Hicks recovers fully and quickly. I hope Trump does not.

  21. 21.

    Elizabelle

    Can you hear me laughing from four or five states up?  I hope he catches a worse case than BoJo.

    Not sure God loves us enough.  And please protect VP Biden.

  22. 22.

    lamh36

    He was at a private fundraiser w/no mask and the rally yesterday.

    Fuq’er was spewing all over the debate.  If Biden or Kamala or any of the Dem camp gets COVID cause of Chump…UGH

  23. 23.

    guachi

    I guess it’s too early to speculate on What This All Means as there are so many ways for this to go. But it has to be a body blow to the No Mask lunatics.

    The cult followers are supposed to die for the cult leader, not the other way around.

  25. 25.

    CaseyL

    @dfh: Exactly.  He’s been getting dosed with some crazypants combination of vitamins, hydroxychlorine, and FSM knows what else for months.  Why would he catch it now, when he hasn’t previously?

    Though rumor has it he’s taking Plavix, a blood-thinner, to prevent clots.  Considering he’s almost certainly had a stroke, and Covid-19 can cause clots, that might make the announcement more credible.

  28. 28.

    BR

    I hope someone gets Biden some plasma as a precautionary measure. From what I’ve read it’s most useful when given very early, sometimes even before symptoms.

    Maybe someone can tweet to Tom Hanks to get some plasma to Biden. Whatever it takes…

  30. 30.

    JPL

    They knew Wednesday evening that Hope had the virus and had her quarantine on the return trip to the DC.   Yesterday did they mention it to Biden and his staff?    It’s doubtful.

  32. 32.

    Elizabelle

    @Sebastian:   I want him disabled enough to be out of the White House, pronto.  But recovered, perhaps, enough to spend the rest of his wretched existence being indicted, on trial, convicted …

    Trump is personally responsible for tens of thousands of deaths.  Needs to pay.

  33. 33.

    JPL

    Personal responsibility for you but not me.

    geez this was just a week ago

    “It affects virtually nobody,” Trump says of the coronavirus, which has now killed 200,000 Americans and counting

  35. 35.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    Trump has no one to blame but himself for his unprecedented fucking stupidity and his irrational hatred of science.  He’s a disgrace to the White House and a disgrace to the nation. Vote him out, vote him out!

    P.S. Fuck the NY Yankees

  36. 36.

    lamh36

    This mofo was actually MOCKING Joe Biden about wearing his mask no less than 3 days ago at that damn debate!

     

    Karma is a damn bitch ain’t it!

  37. 37.

    TS (the original)

    Talking to myself on the old thread.

    Share market futures are in the red. Who would have thought.

    And all last thoughts I have are with VP Biden, family, staff & friends. How dare these deplorables refuse to wear masks at the debate and spread disease to other people.

  38. 38.

    guachi

    The script writers are going overtime today. Will they have Trump die right after getting humiliated at the ballot box? Will he survive to be sued into penury?

  41. 41.

    RinaX

    The ultimate October surprise.

    I refuse to believe 2020 hates us so much that Biden also ends up with COVID-19. The sheer number of high-level people Trump exposed with his bullshit is staggering.

  42. 42.

    Kent

    So if Trump goes, this is going to leave one EPIC fight amongst the Trump spawn for whatever remains of the Trump carcass and his scattered “business empire”   It will be truly be the jackals gnawing at the bones.  Melania and Barron vs Javanka and Don Jr.  in a cage match for the ages.

  43. 43.

    The Dangerman

    I was wondering if the next Shaq sized shoe to drop would be the SC nominee would come down with it. I didn’t aim high enough.

  45. 45.

    Emma from FL

    I wanted to say something on the snarky/nasty scale but I think I’m too freaking tired. I think I shall say prayers tonight, for Joe Biden and his family and those who had to sit near the band of maskless vultures at the debate. And for Nancy Pelosi, just in case.

    If I pray for the vultures God will know I’m only doing out of obligation, and not really mean it, so I’ll pass.

  46. 46.

    Repatriated

    @BR: I would not be shocked if Trump has secretly been getting convalescent plasma infusions and thought he was immune.

     

    Might have made testing him a bit more complicated than usual.

  52. 52.

    TS (the original)

    @Adam – at top

    Given this diagnosis, the Vice President, due to his ongoing proximity to the President and Hope Hicks, should also be quarantining until he gets two negative tests. I have no idea if that is going to happen. But right now the national security of the United States is at very high risk.

    In my world, every person who had contact with Hope Hicks in the past week would be in lock down quarantine. They would not go out anywhere.  If they could not quarantine at home they would be in a quarantine hotel – most of which are used for overseas arrivals.

    What sort of contact tracing does this ridiculous administration has. This man is a major spreader & now there is a country and a world crisis coming up.

  56. 56.

    RinaX

    I hope Young Jared gets it.  I hate the motherfucker.

    I’m rooting for Stephen Miller to get a bad case.

  58. 58.

    lamh36

    Fox News is floundering now. How they gonna go from “it’s a hoax” to now “oh yeah uh…” smh

  63. 63.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @Elizabelle:

    I hear you loud and clear.

     

    @CaseyL:

    Don’t forget light inside the body and disinfectant!

     

    @Sebastian:

    I want him to watch everything, his defeat and destruction, helpless like Hector Salamanca in Breaking Bad.

    That’s music to my ears, thank you!

  66. 66.

    lamh36

    If Chump knowing Hicks was positive still went to a closed fundraiser where he WAS NOT masked…that fuq’er didn’t care.

  67. 67.

    lgerard

    I wonder if he will he taking the quack supplement his friend the pillow guy has been pushing

    Trump said he had “heard about” oleandrin. “Is it something people are talking about very strongly?” he asked a reporter on the White House lawn.

    “We’ll look at it, we’ll look at it, we’re looking at a lot of different things,” he said.

  68. 68.

    CaseyL

    How far apart were Trump and Biden at the debate?  I think they were at least 6 feet apart, weren’t they?  And they went in different directions afterward?

  70. 70.

    Kent

    All I gotta say is that my daughter’s AP Government zoom class is gonna be lit tomorrow.

    October surprise for real.

  71. 71.

    Morzer

    My official position on Trump and Melania catching the ‘rona?

    In the words of the executioner in The Three Musketeers:

    “Let pass the justice of God.”

  72. 72.

    trnc

    @MomSense: Part of me wonders if they really have it. I don’t trust anything they say.

    I was trying to figure out how lying about it would work in his favor. Getting out of the debate seems like it wouldn’t be worth him giving up his rallies. The only thing I can think of is that coming out of quarantine in 2 weeks saying, “I beat it!” might make him look stronger.

  74. 74.

    Kent

    @lamh36:If Chump knowing Hicks was positive still went to a closed fundraiser where he WAS NOT masked…that fuq’er didn’t care.

    He has never cared about anyone ever in his life.  The man has always been a sociopath.

  80. 80.

    MisterForkbeard

    I hope Biden didn’t catch it from this asshole. And his family. Who refused to fucking wear masks at the debate.

    But really, I hope Trump doesn’t die. That might actually upset the race. No question that Trump would deserve it – maybe he can hold on until November 5th and then die from shame and COVID.

  81. 81.

    Cameron

    I wonder if he really has it.  Faking it would give him a two-fer: excuse to get out of the debates, and proof to the nation that COVID isn’t actually dangerous (“Your favorite President – me – was diagnosed with Kung Flu!  Feel great, but will make the socialists happy by following their stupid-ass rules.  Next rally in two weeks!”).

  82. 82.

    trnc

    @Sebastian: If he’s in quarantine he can do the debate on Zoom.

    BINGO! Also, the VP debate should already be shifted over to zoom, regardless of Pence’s exposure.

  85. 85.

    jl

    WH been playing with fire for months. Biden seems very good with masks, and I’m glad he has been.

    I looked up research on the most common European protocol: stay 6 feet apart, keep inside density down to 50-60 sq ft per person, if can’t stay 6 feet apart must wear a mask (try to always wear mask in public), 5 or 10 people max per room (called the 2+2+5, or 2+2+10 rule), no shaking hands, hygiene routine, don’t pick your nose no more. Reduces transmission by 90 to 95 percent. Can get most daily business done that way.

    If US did that, a lot of reopening could be reduced to a check list. (edit: after we get adequate testing!)

    Let’s hope for the best.

  87. 87.

    sanjeevs

    Not sure if I even believe it.

    When he was talking to Hannity after the Hope Hicks news came out he sounded calm. He usually is anything but calm when he’s worried about something hurting him (e.g Mueller)

  88. 88.

    Chetan Murthy

    I’ve hurled lots of imprecations at the Orange Usurper.  And I’ve wished lots of awful things on him. But I’ll take it all back, if Joe and Jill are untouched.  Geez, they volunteered to save us all, and it’d be some divine punishment for their bravery, to have this happen.  Please don’t let it happen.

  89. 89.

    prostratedragon

    @CaseyL: I saw a wide shot that made it look like they were at least about 15 feet apart, possibly more. Wallace was a good distance away also, sort of an equilateral triangle.

  94. 94.

    lamh36

    The ONLY thing I care about right now is that Joe & Jill Biden are okay. This fuq’er was spewing his COVID infected breath all over that debate stage and his family and some of his staff and audience people DID NOT wear masks at the venue!

    Fuq’er!

  96. 96.

    jl

    @prostratedragon: Yes, it did look responsible and safe. No guarantees for individuals, though. The rules play the averages to make outbreak control reliable and effective, to keep outbreaks small and squashable. So, we need to pray, or hope, if you are not into the former.

  97. 97.

    TS (the original)

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    two of my sisters both say he’s using it as an excuse to get out of the debate

    It is crashing the markets – which is one reason I don’t agree with this. Trump could simply refuse to do the debates with little pushback from anyone.

    US stock futures plunged Friday after President Donald Trump said that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus.

  98. 98.

    JPL

    trump mocked folks with masks including the press corp that follow him.    He endangered anyone he came in contact with today/yesterday.   They knew about Hope Wednesday.

  99. 99.

    Elizabelle

    @The Dangerman:   Hoping you remain asymptomatic and return to health soonest.  Fingers crossed.

    For you.  Not for Trump.  I want that a-hole on a ventilator.  For months and months.

  100. 100.

    ...now I try to be amused

    Trump had the example of Boris Johnson. At the time I thought it might scare Trump into being more careful, but then shunning masks and social distancing is a tribal shibboleth on the right. Besides, his vanity didn’t want a mask smearing his makeup.

  101. 101.

    Kent

    @trnc:BINGO! Also, the VP debate should already be shifted over to zoom, regardless of Pence’s exposure.

    Well, yes.  But not zoom.  The networks do have better technology for airing simultaneous footage from multiple locations.  It’s what they do every night.

  103. 103.

    dfh

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    He can’t handle losing, psychologically. Today he began backing out of the 2 debates, because the rules may change.

    Now he’s got Covid as an excuse.

    What’s next, more bone spurs?

  104. 104.

    Adam L Silverman

    @lafcolleen: You have to be a real boy to actually be susceptible to disease. And I don’t see the Blue Fairy making him a real boy anytime soon.

  109. 109.

    Elizabelle

    Pinochet falling out of a helicopter.  LOL.

    Meanwhile:  Happy 96th, James Earl Carter.  Who is smart enough to stay away from COVID.  Wishing you many many more fulfilling years.  [Well, yesterday.  October 1.  But it’s still his bday on the West Coast, no??]

  110. 110.

    Felanius Kootea

    @The Dangerman:  Hope it stays asymptomatic and that you feel no ill-effects. My assistant at work caught it, was knocked out for two weeks, and lost her sense of taste and smell for a bit (they gradually returned). Her husband caught it and had no discernible symptoms. I think the fact that he’s a personal trainer helped him.

  112. 112.

    RandomMonster

    This novel is so stupid and unbelievable but I guess I’ll just have to finish it anyway.

  113. 113.

    Adam L Silverman

    @TS (the original): No arguments from me.

    Based on what we’ve seen of this administration, I doubt they could contact trace to save their lives if you’ll pardon the pun.

  114. 114.

    dfh

    Psst, Don. There’s a cure in Russia, people, many people are saying.

    So… to Russia with Covid?

  115. 115.

    JPL

    So tomorrow morning no one will be talking about Melania’s  hate over having to decorate the White House for Christmas.

  116. 116.

    Kent

    @TS (the original):

    It is crashing the markets – which is one reason I don’t agree with this. Trump could simply refuse to do the debates with little pushback from anyone.

    US stock futures plunged Friday after President Donald Trump said that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus.

    Well, they are down, but not exactly crashing.   400 points is about 1.7% of the Dow.

  118. 118.

    Morzer

    @Wyatt Salamanca: It is indeed true that all of those things/people/Trumps suck, but the Jets are approaching their suckitude with a truly impressive determination to be Number One.

  123. 123.

    Sebastian

    Shit. Nightmare scenario is Trump is asymptotic or mild case but Joe infected and dies. What the fuck happens then? Ton of votes already cast.

  125. 125.

    Bruce K

    Sounds like it’s 25th Amendment time. With the entire Executive Branch likely exposed, Pelosi needs to be standing by and getting regular rapid-turnaround tests.

  126. 126.

    Adam L Silverman

    @CaseyL: 6 feet, but that distance isn’t a guarantee. A lot of the data shows that COVID-19 is aerosolized in addition to being transmitted by droplets. 6 feet is the minimum distance to avoid droplets, but won’t do anything for aerosol transmission.

  127. 127.

    lamh36

    Fox News has been showing the SAME two photos of the few times Chump wore a masks.  I refuse to watch any further.

    But the few bits I saw had them floundering to try to be all chin up about it cause they konw…they’ve got to do a complet 360!!!

  128. 128.

    Another Scott

    After White House officials learned of Hicks’ symptoms, Trump and his entourage flew to New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser and delivered a speech. Trump was in close contact with dozens of others including campaign supporters at a roundtable event. https://t.co/LyQgKrSW2c

    — Joe Mathews (@joemmathews) October 2, 2020

    Because of course he was.

    It’s The Masque of the Red Death come to life, just as we feared/expected/predicted…

    Grrr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  129. 129.

    FelonyGovt

    I’’m worried about the Bidens. As for Trump and Malaria, they should try the bleach injection cure.

  131. 131.

    prostratedragon

    @jl:  Yeah, and a caveat is that, from the amount of yelling that SomeoneOrOther was doing even a spacious area could be filled up with little colliding particles, even despite what’s probably a quality ventilation system.

     

    As I said above, fuck them!

  132. 132.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Based on what we’ve seen of this administration, I doubt they could contact trace to save their lives if you’ll pardon the pun.

    Trump has assembled the quintessential confederacy of dunces and bed wetting sycophants and our executive branch is currently operating at the peak level of kakistocracy.

  134. 134.

    Adam L Silverman

    @trnc: Mother doesn’t allow the Vice President to Zoom with women or do anything else with women over the Internet unless he’s being properly supervised…

  135. 135.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Mr. Kite: He should totally chug a tanker car full of hydroxycholoquine, inject himself with a gallon of bleach and shove a fluorescent shop light up his ass.

  136. 136.

    NickM

    I don’t believe him. Something’s up. I know that sounds crazy but what about this situation isn’t crazy?

  138. 138.

    JPL

    @lamh36: Earlier the Horse Wisperer said he felt trump had it, because they knew about Hope Wednesday.   He would have been rapid tested several times since then.    He should have isolated yesterday, since he was in contact with her.

  142. 142.

    trollhattan

    @lamh36:

    Agree–the LENGTH of their time together is very worrying. On the plus side they were in a relatively huge space, one with hopefully good air circulation to compensate for the stage lighting.

    Everything Donny touches turns to shite.

  144. 144.

    Feathers

    Melania, too? I can’t imagine they are in close enough physical contact that she got it from him. Or that Hope goes anywhere near Melania. What popped into my head is that COVID would be a good cover for bumping off Melania. But I’ve been reading so many mysteries lately, and just watched Hound of the Baskerville tonight.

    Hope Joe and Jill are OK.

  145. 145.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    @The Dangerman:  Yikes! I’m sorry to hear that and hoping for the best possible, least symptomatic long-term outcome for you. Take care and please let us know how you’re doing, if you feel comfortable sharing.

  150. 150.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @JPL: There are more tapes. And I’m not so sure how important they are. I said to someone tonight, if my best friend taped our conversations, I’d come out looking pretty bad, too. There’s a lot of venting going on about people, clients, family.

    And I’m probably not the only one who thinks like that.

    Don’t get me wrong, she’s a garbage human, regardless.

  152. 152.

    TS (the original)

    @Kent:

    Dow is now -500. Down about 1% in my part of the world – where the markets are currently open.

    May not be a problem but as someone set above, the trump family are probably making money out of it all

    Edit:  And if it is a small fall, maybe proves that trump is no longer of importance to the USA.

  153. 153.

    NotMax

    @Casey L

    While I’m not saying there was zero risk to Biden, let’s not rush to blow things out of proportion and keep in mind that

    1) it was a large (and mostly empty) auditorium and stage
    2) Ventilation/circulation and a/c in those halls when in use is not only constant but is directed from the ceiling and the fly space above the stage downwards rather than across. And is generally more robust on the stage in order to partially compensate for the heat of the lights.
    3) They were not in close proximity with one another.
    .

  157. 157.

    MisterForkbeard

    @JPL: Wait, is that right? Hope tested positive yesterday and they just fucked around for a day, continued to send Trump out and about? UGGH

  159. 159.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    .now I try to be amused:

    Besides, his vanity didn’t want a mask smearing his makeup.

    Trump’s supreme arrogance and douchebaggery plus his idiotic hatred and disrespect for science would not permit him to do the right things to avoid contracting COVID.  Once a douche, always a douche.  Vote Trump out!

  161. 161.

    Grace

    @sanjeevs: “Not sure I even believe it”

    I’m with you. Nothing happens to or around him that at least the Secret Service isn’t watching for. If Hope Hicks was truly symptomatic yesterday,  wouldn’t they at least have raised alarms and pushed him to test and to distance? This is all just too convenient in the timing, tidily solving those pesky debate issues, not only without humiliation but with a global outpouring of alleged concern for the shitstain. I can’t believe no one has raised this yet: what do you bet there will be an immediate pronouncement that the election will have to be postponed because it’s entirely unfair that Sleepy Joe is still out there campaigning and he can’t be! Much better if the election is moved to early December to compensate him. That timing will be much better for depressing turnout, right in the middle of holidays and with the election processes thrown into chaos. Is it possible for him or anyone else to postpone the election on his command?

  163. 163.

    HumboldtBlue

    @TaMara (HFG):

    You’re a key component to a top 10,000 blog, those grifting vultures are robbing us blind.

    Sure, you’re getting kicked off Neighborhood Watch, the school board and Co-op board but it was worth it.

    Plus, Barb is a bitch.

  164. 164.

    Kent

    @TS (the original):

    @Kent:

    Dow is now -500. Down about 1% in my part of the world – where the markets are currently open.

    May not be a problem but as someone set above, the trump family are probably making money out of it all

    Edit:  And if it is a small fall, maybe proves that trump is no longer of importance to the USA.

    It will go down some because of the uncertainty.  But I expect the markets have already priced in a Biden victory.  But then what do I know, I’m no expert and neither is anyone else.  Most of this is driven by computer algorithm trading.

  165. 165.

    patrick II

    I’m thinking of Joe telling Trump during the debate to just shut up.  But he wouldn’t, and he was loud and turned his head facing Joe.  I am hoping, with those above, that Joe is O.K., but I am worried.

  166. 166.

    mrmoshpotato

    @danielx: I don’t want to be in this movie any more.

    It’s been damn shitty.  Let’s make sure a sequel doesn’t get greenlit.

  167. 167.

    Morzer

    Has anyone checked Susan Collins’ tightly puckered asshole to see what her current level of concern might be?

  171. 171.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Sebastian: Kamala gets it in that case.

    Along with a healthy dose of “Joe Biden caught his and died for his country, because Trump was too much of a fuckup to fight it nationally, and too much of a fuckup to insist on proper isolation and protection amongst his team.”

  172. 172.

    Brachiator

    Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

    Talk about your breaking news. When I went out for dinner, Hope Hicks had tested positive and there were tape recordings of Melania being a Christmas grinch.

    I hope that Biden and his family are ok.

  175. 175.

    JPL

    @TaMara (HFG): I thought of that and everyone knew that his war on Christmas was just to get points from his base.

    ABC is talking about trump mocking Biden for wearing a mask.

  176. 176.

    Kent

    @Grace:@sanjeevs: “Not sure I even believe it”

    What’s the upside of faking Covid?   Trump is the alpha.  He is allergic to anything that reeks of weakness.  I could believe him having it and them covering it up. But not faking.  That’s the ultimate Ferris Buehler’s Day Off.  He would NEVER live that down.  He would be the ultimate presidential laughing stock.  And his administration is the leakiest in history. Someone would leak that he is faking.

  184. 184.

    Kent

    @Grace: Is it possible for him or anyone else to postpone the election on his command?

    No.  Elections are governed by states and the date is set by Congress.  Trump has no say or control over that.  They would need Nancy Pelosi and the House to sign off over any election day change.  Not gonna happen.

  186. 186.

    West Texan 70

    @Kent: If they’re still down when the market opens, I’m in there buying. The latest poll of CEOs showed that corporations have tired of the Orange Asshole’s schtick. They’re ready for some normalcy.

  187. 187.

    TS (the original)

    @lamh36:

    If Chump knowing Hicks was positive still went to a closed fundraiser where he WAS NOT masked…that fuq’er didn’t care.

    Wonder if the donors care – paying money to get covid-19

  188. 188.

    CaseyL

    I don’t understand why the markets are down.  Trump has been a disaster for the economy.

    But then, the Dow has nothing to do with the real economy.

  190. 190.

    frosty

    @NotMax: I’d like Suzanne to weigh in. Nothing like having an expert on interior design. And I really like all the expertise we have commenting on this blog. And ranting, let’s not forget ranting!

  191. 191.

    Poe Larity

    Who would have guessed Hope Hicks as a wannabe assassin? Or perhaps this is Pence’s October Surprise.

    None of the staff wear masks, so they’ve all got it.

  192. 192.

    HumboldtBlue

    @guachi:

    I swear, each month of 2020 will have its own History degree.

    Nomination for the revolving quote thing, please.

  193. 193.

    HeleninEire

    LOL. Fox just said that Trump has no co-morbidities. Also, the only negative thing is he works soooooo hard.

  196. 196.

    Another Scott

    @RinaX: Only front pagers can embed the graphics with tweets, but normal people can embed the tweet code to get the text and links.

    The main thing is, you have to be in the Text tab in the “Leave a Comment” box here.  Just paste in the code you get from the “Embed tweet” down-arrow thingy in the upper right corner on the Tweet.

    I hope this is clear.  Write back if not.

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  199. 199.

    Kent

    @CaseyL:

    I don’t understand why the markets are down.  Trump has been a disaster for the economy.

    But then, the Dow has nothing to do with the real economy.

    It’s probably computer trading happening based on the uncertainty.  There are all sorts of computer-based algorithm trading that people scarcely understand.  But also, people are probably just pulling their money out of the market to let things settle.  I wouldn’t expect it to affect the market long term.  A Biden victory is probably already priced in to most stocks (up or down depending on whether they think he will help or hurt that particular stock).

  201. 201.

    TS (the original)

    @Grace:

    the election will have to be postponed because it’s entirely unfair that Sleepy Joe is still out there campaigning and he can’t be!

    I doubt Biden will be doing much in person campaigning for the next 2 weeks.  He understands about how the virus spreads & cares for people. Despite the risk may be minimal, he was at the debate with Hope Hicks & should also isolate for 2 weeks.

    If Trump is as well as he says, he could still do virtual campaigning – except for his campaign people having little idea how to organise for virtual campaigning.

  206. 206.

    moops

    Trump and Melania will survive with just mild flu symptoms.  because the writers hate us.   Hope Hicks will kill a family member, and they will deserve it.

  207. 207.

    Captain C

    It just occurred to me that if The Shitgibbon and Melania are both quarantined in the White House, are they stuck in the same space?  That would be amusing in a schadenfreudelicious sort of way.  Those tapes would be epic.

  208. 208.

    Brachiator

    @BR:

    I hope someone gets Biden some plasma as a precautionary measure. From what I’ve read it’s most useful when given very early, sometimes even before symptoms.

    Unfortunately, plasma is not really useful.

    The FDA or CDC officials did the math wrong in assessing the effectiveness of this treatment.

  209. 209.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Any sense of schadenfreude I’m feeling is tempered by the realization that he was yelling at Biden from only eight feet away for 90 minutes

    Thoughts and prayers. Just don’t ask me what I’m thinking, and what I’m praying for.

  211. 211.

    cain

    @Sebastian: 

    If he’s in quarantine he can do the debate on Zoom.

    He’s going to look like a doddering fool – he won’t know how to do any of that.

  213. 213.

    Kattails

    Every damned time I think I’ve gotten my “grab them by the throat and shake until their eyeballs bug out” reflex under control, they pull something else.  I was livid about the refusal of Trump’s entourage to wear masks during the debate, although they’d agreed in advance and apparently also been directly requested to do so by an official. Insanely reckless with the lives and health of everyone they come in contact with.

  215. 215.

    cain

    @JPL:

    They knew Wednesday evening that Hope had the virus and had her quarantine on the return trip to the DC.   Yesterday did they mention it to Biden and his staff?    It’s doubtful.

    That’s criminally irresponsible – I would almost say it was done on purpose. Malignant assholes that they are.

  216. 216.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Kent: Goldman Sachs issued their assessment and forecast of a Biden win on the economy yesterday. It was much more positive than if the President is reelected.

  217. 217.

    Kent

    @Sebastian:

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I am not familiar with the AC/ventilation system on AF1 but it’s still just a plane and not that big. Without masks infection is highly probable, no?

    I expect the air is recirculated because they can’t exactly open a window at elevation.  Question is how good the filters are.  I expect pretty good.

    But then what do I know?   I do know that long plane rides are one of the surest ways to spread Covid according to recent news reports.

  218. 218.

    TS (the original)

    @CaseyL:

    I don’t understand why the markets are down.

    I don’t really think it is trump related. It is a major issue happening in the United States, which despite trump is to some extent still a world leader.  The market is spooked by the idea of a US president being seriously ill.

  225. 225.

    cain

    @Kent:

    So if Trump goes, this is going to leave one EPIC fight amongst the Trump spawn for whatever remains of the Trump carcass and his scattered “business empire”   It will be truly be the jackals gnawing at the bones.  Melania and Barron vs Javanka and Don Jr.  in a cage match for the ages.

    A bloodfest not seen since Roman times. Or maybe during the Mughal empire times.

  226. 226.

    lamh36

    @trnc: but the effects on things like the economy and the DOW which he’s been using to tout the “Chump economy”.  Tanking that to dodge debates and to want to be seen as strong.

     

    Also wouldn’t that galvanize Dems and anti-Trumpers even MORE so. Also…the effects this will have on the DOW and the economy for a PR stunt? SMH…would be bad. They are already down as of this listing…IDK…I think Chump co are too dumb to even pull this type of stunt off

  227. 227.

    Kent

    @Adam L Silverman:@Kent: Goldman Sachs issued their assessment and forecast of a Biden win on the economy yesterday. It was much more positive than if the President is reelected.

    Yeah, I read that too.  But the stock market is not the economy.  And each individual stock is still going to be priced individually based on the election’s impact on that sector and company.  For example, Tesla and alternative energy stocks will go sky high.  Coal stocks will crater under Biden. That sort of thing.

  229. 229.

    gwangung

    We don’t know the circulation patterns in the auditorium. If Joe was in the airflow or turbulence pattern from Trump, then, yes, he could be infected.

  230. 230.

    joel hanes

    @jl:

    Six feet apart is not enough.

    That recommendation was based on the assumption that SARS-CoV2 is definitely not “airborne”, and is only communicated by heavy wet droplets.

    We know from the detailed restaurant, airplane, and train studies that, indoors, it can infect someone 20 feet away.

  232. 232.

    lamh36

    Pence issued a statement, but didn’t mention whether her or Mother got tested for COVID

  234. 234.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    I Nancy Pelosi do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States – so help me God.

  235. 235.

    MoCA Ace

    @otmar: Karma: your turn.

    A few months in the ICU and a long stint on the ventilator sounds about right.  Time to hit the sack… I got lottsa praying to do tonight!

  238. 238.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Kent: It’s after 2 AM where I’m at. I had two Zoom meetings and a teleconference on Wednesday and another Zoom meeting and a teleconference today. You’re lucky I can even think straight enough to recall the content of the Goldman Sachs tweet. I’m definitely not doing specific economic explainers at this hour.

  239. 239.

    Kent

    This is going to be like the Jimmy Carter rose garden re-election campaign during the Iran Hostage Crisis.

    Every single damn day from here on out is going to be consumed with Trump Covid coverage 24/7.  Consumed by it.   I don’t know that it helps him.  But think about it.  Biden isn’t really going to be able to campaign.

  240. 240.

    YY_Sima Qian

    As much as I should be enjoying the schadenfreude, my sense of foreboding regarding 2020 just got stronger…

    Part of me also wonder if he is lying to get some sympathy votes.

    I remember reading that Trump gets tested twice a day? If so, and if he is indeed infected, hopefully they caught it early enough before he is infectious to others. I could care less what happens to him, though I do hope he at least lives to see defeat in November.

  241. 241.

    Mel

    @Adam L Silverman: This.

    There’s apparently concern that the eyes also can be a route for infection, from both droplets and aerosols.  Goggles and face shields are my new best friends.

  243. 243.

    Kent

    @Adam L Silverman:@Kent: It’s after 2 AM where I’m at. I had two Zoom meetings and a teleconference on Wednesday and another Zoom meeting and a teleconference today. You’re lucky I can even think straight enough to recall the content of the Goldman Sachs tweet. I’m definitely not doing specific economic explainers at this hour.

    No, you got it exactly right.  Goldman Sachs predicted a Biden victory would be better for economic recovery than a Trump victory.  But they were talking about the real economy (GDP, unemployment, etc.) not the stock market, which goes up and down with it’s own logic, or lack of logic.

  244. 244.

    TriassicSands

    @TaMara (HFG):

    To raise your spirits, TaMara, you might want to check out the comments on the Washington Post’s announcement article. So far there are more than 12,000 and strangely, they aren’t all warm wishes for a quick recovery. In fact, I didn’t see a single one for the most beloved American president ever. There are, however, quite a few that suspect that this is the real COVID-19 hoax.

  246. 246.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mel: If I have to go anywhere I have a mask on and my normal sunglasses for outside and clear eye protection – the clear impact resistance ballistic glasses I was issued when in Iraq – for inside.

  247. 247.

    Grace

    @cain: I’m still convinced this is the easy, non-humiliating out for his debate dilemma. Just sick enough not to be able to participate but not too sick to launch 100 tweets a day from his bunker. Only downside for him is missing a couple weekends of golf, but more time to call into Fox & Fiends daily. And if he loses … holler “no fair” for the rest of his life, Sleepy Joe unfairly got more time to campaign.

  248. 248.

    sanjeevs

    @joel hanes: I don’t know. The administrations top scientific expert said this at the debate

    I don’t wear a mask like him. Every time you see him he’s got a mask. He could be 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.

  250. 250.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Kent: I’m going to sleep. I’d appreciate it if you all wouldn’t break any news until at least 10 AM tomorrow morning!

  253. 253.

    Kent

    @BethanyAnne:Wonder what this will do to the Barrett nomination?

    Nothing.  They’ll still ram it through.  We are talking McConnell after all.  We need 4 GOP Senators to come down with Covid and wind up sedated on respirators to stop that.

  255. 255.

    JPL

    trump did not look well on Tuesday, maybe he gave it to Hope.    We’ll have to wait and see how many members of his staff become early.    As of now it’s Hope, trump and Melania

    The news about Hope was leaked, so who knows what trump would do today had it not been.

  256. 256.

    TriassicSands

    @Mel: Goggles and face shields are my new best friends.

    But only with a mask, right? The video of the effectiveness of face shields (instead of masks) was horrifying. I’m seeing more nurses adding goggles to the masks.

  260. 260.

    Kent

    @Grace:@cain: I’m still convinced this is the easy, non-humiliating out for his debate dilemma. Just sick enough not to be able to participate but not too sick to launch 100 tweets a day from his bunker. Only downside for him is missing a couple weekends of golf, but more time to call into Fox & Fiends daily. And if he loses … holler “no fair” for the rest of his life, Sleepy Joe unfairly got more time to campaign.

    So, the  greatest “sick day?” in the history of the world?

    His staff hates him and he has the leakiest administration in history.  If he is faking it someone will leak it out and that will be the end of him.

  261. 261.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Morzer: Nothing unless Barrett also tests positive or Trump (and Pence) die.

    So basically, probably nothing. If Barrett gets it then presumably her hearings might be delayed – or it might encourage Republicans to push it through anyway, because then Democrats would be “attacking” the nice sick lady.

  262. 262.

    cain

    @Grace:

    No.. remember when Obama was POTUS and they took his blackberry away? No such thing happened with Trump, they didn’t take his phone away. He basically told them all to piss off.

    It probably the same thing here.

  263. 263.

    NotMax

    @Kent

    Yup yup. Infinitely easier to move the date earlier, as moving it later would also mean adjusting to a later date the deadline for sending of electoral votes to Congress. Plus the time frame for later dates is very narrow, as the 20th Amendment provides zero wiggle room, specifying the four-year term of the office of the president and vice president ends at noon on January 20, period. Full stop. (Regardless of whether or not an election has successfully taken place).

  264. 264.

    TriassicSands

    I demand that Trump be retested by Dr. Fauci in a complete level 4 biohazard suit.

  265. 265.

    Adam L Silverman

    @guachi: I have several sets in several different configurations. My preferred ones are the round shaped ones that look like half bubbles. I’ve also got the sawflys. All come with the dark grey, yellow/copper, and clear lenses.

    My day to day sunglasses are either a pair of WileyX Tobi with the silver lenses or Gargoyles tortoiseshell flux.

  266. 266.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @The Dangerman: Were you ever retested to confirm? False positives are very rare with RT-PCR tests, but does happen with contaminated assays.

    In any case, best of luck and may you stay asymptomatic. Watch out for the “long haul” side effects, which can affect even asymptomatic/mild cases.

  267. 267.

    Poe Larity

    I retract my statement that there is no god made after RBG’s death.

    Even if there is no god, RBG will serve as an appropriate substitute.

  268. 268.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @TriassicSands: This is the stupidest, most corrupt, evil administration in history, but I can’t imagine how lying about this would gain them anything. Debate? He could bow out and play the victim because of the new rules. I can’t imagine him willingly give up campaigning.

    The only upside is he survived it with no ill effects…but that seems like a long road to travel, when just NOT getting it and NOT wearing a mask was working for him.

  269. 269.

    TS (the original)

    Way back before I was old enough to vote, but I had an interest in politics, we had a local politician who never thought he could be defeated. He stood for re-election and after over 30 years in the parliament he was defeated.

    He never knew he lost the election. He died in hospital while the count was ongoing.

    Wonder what made me think of this story?

  271. 271.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    A reminder of Trump’s vital role in spreading misinformation about COVID:

    The Cornell Alliance for Science has just released a media analysis that identifies the hot topics and major players in the misinformation “infodemic” that has accompanied the global COVID-19 pandemic.

     

    The study, which evaluated 38 million articles published by English-language, traditional media worldwide, identified over 1.1 million news articles that disseminated, amplified or reported on misinformation related to the pandemic. The misinformation conversation was dominated by 11 primary topics, ranging from conspiracy theories to attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

     

    “We were interested in exploring this issue because the World Health Organization has identified COVID misinformation, which it termed an ‘infodemic’, as a serious concern in fighting the pandemic,” said lead author Sarah Evanega, director of the Cornell Alliance for Science. “If people are misled by unscientific and unsubstantiated claims about the disease, they may be less likely to observe official guidance and thus risk spreading the virus.”

     

    The most popular topic was what study authors termed “miracle cures.” This topic appeared in 295,351 articles — more than the other 10 topics combined.

     

    The study found that comments by US President Donald Trump drove major spikes in the “miracle cures” misinformation topic, led by his April 24 musing about the possibility of using disinfectants internally to cure the coronavirus. Trump’s advocacy of unproven treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, as well as his admission that he was using the drug in an attempt to stave off the virus, also prompted major spikes in the misinformation conversation.

     

    These findings suggest that President Trump was quite likely the largest driver of misinformation during the COVID pandemic to date, the study authors noted.

    h/t https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2020/10/what-drove-the-covid-misinformation-infodemic/

  272. 272.

    Kent

    @Amir Khalid:

    @HeleninEire:

    Fox just said that Trump has no co-morbidities.

    Yeah, right.

    The current case fatality rate for someone his age is about 5%.  So chances are he’ll only get badly ill for a few weeks.  We still have a 95% chance he’ll be around to vote up or down come November 2.

  273. 273.

    Fair Economist

    @Adam L Silverman: I think the transmission may have occurred in the circus around the ACB nomination. Lots of people in close proximity including many who aren’t regulars at the WH creates a golden opportunity to introduce and spread SARS2.

  274. 274.

    TriassicSands

    @Grace: Only downside for him is missing a couple weekends of golf, but more time to call into Fox & Fiends daily.

    Why should he miss any golf at all? He owns the course. Just close it to everyone else and Melania can be his caddy.

  275. 275.

    TS (the original)

    @BethanyAnne:

    Wonder what this will do to the Barrett nomination?

    I did see this tweet but doubt the GOP will care

    This stops all business in Congress, as Trump and Amy Coney Barrett were with McConnell, met with other senators.All must quarantine. No business can go on. The nomination to SCOTUS must wait until after the election.— Michelangelo Signorile, subscribe to my newsletter (@MSignorile) October 2, 2020

  276. 276.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Kent: Don’t have a link handy, but from what I recall reading a few months ago, airplanes are surprising safe because they cycle in fresh air even more frequently than a Covid-ward hospital room. Which surprised the hell out of me, given all the flights I’ve done in my life, but it’s true. It’s not a problem to get outside air because it can be compressed sufficient thickness and warmed before it reaches the cabin.

    Which is why there were almost no cases traced by to flights themselves. I don’t know if there’s been a rise lately, but some airlines are booking middle seats, with both more people flying and more cases overall, it could see it happening.

  278. 278.

    patrick II

    Looking back, I have been amazed at how Trump was dodging so many bullets.  People all around him have been coming down with the virus, including his secret service detail.  The real, physical world has finally had an effect on him.

  279. 279.

    egorelick

    @Grace: I know it’s crazy, but I think Trump had it. They knew he had it. No reason for him to isolate because he already had it and he didn’t give a f*ck about other people.

  280. 280.

    Kent

    @JPL:

    trump did not look well on Tuesday, maybe he gave it to Hope.    We’ll have to wait and see how many members of his staff become early.    As of now it’s Hope, trump and Melania

    The news about Hope was leaked, so who knows what trump would do today had it not been.

    Pretty much every relevant piece of information about this administration has been through a leak.   Imagine how much shit we don’t actually know about.

    There must be a shitload of young staffers at the White House who are polishing up their resumes and looking to keep up their media contacts about now.

  281. 281.

    scav

    Ad would be easy enough.  Start with the Shoot a man on 5th Ave quote.  Then to a date and time stamped image of Hicks noting when the got the diagnosis.  And then document every single event they had afterward, lots of images of faces, especially those of supporters.  Background ticking? Last image just the text Bang.

  284. 284.

    JPL

    I’m sorta surprised that the New York Times didn’t try to hide Melania’s anger about having to work so hard on Christmas decorations.

    “I’m working like a — my ass off at Christmas stuff,” Mrs. Trump laments to the former aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who has just published a tell-all book, in a recording that was first broadcast on CNN on Thursday night. Mrs. Trump continued, “You know, who gives a fuck about Christmas stuff and decoration?”

  285. 285.

    Mel

    @Adam L Silverman: A former coworker who is still teaching built a plastic booth which surrounds her desk, since mask policy enforcement is iffy at best, and half the parents are rabid anti-maskers encouraging their kids to flout the rules, and the ventilation in the building is antiquated at best.

    It’s a thing of beauty –  it resembles one of the 1970s game show booths where contestants got showered with flying cash and had 60 seconds to grab as much as they could hold.

  289. 289.

    Kent

    I don’t think he’s faking.

    Trump desperately wants to change the subject away from Covid and on to anything else.  ANTIFA?  BLM?  Blacks moving into your suburb?

    With the news that Trump has Covid, the next 30 days are going to be about nothing but Covid.  24/7.  Everything about Trump and Covid for the past 6 months is going to be revisited.  The press is going to talk about nothing else.  ANTIFA is going to be forgotten.

    Not even someone as stupid as Trump would do that.

  290. 290.

    Quinerly

    @Fair Economist: I think ACB could have some exposure. Mark Meadows is in constant one on one contact with Trump. Meadows is also having close contact with ACB.

    It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  291. 291.

    cain

    @Kent:

    Yeah, I don’t think this is going to be a two week Ferris Bueller Weeks off kind of thing.

    I think the man has it, and he’s also spreading it himself. He probably gave it to Hope Hicks. In any case, my primary concern are the Bidens and Nancy Pelosi.

    We need to make sure that they are taken care of.

  292. 292.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I sure up Mr Orange Unnatural Relationship with His Mother’s Albino Head Possum has the decency to die after the election so we don’t have to listen any St Trump the Martyred  for the rest of eternity from the Right. As it is they will be screaming Biden only one because  of Covid so it doesn’t count.

  293. 293.

    lgerard

    Will there be a contest for the best trump epitaph?

    He gave his life for football

     

    (no epithets please)

  298. 298.

    Kent

    @Quinerly:

    @Fair Economist: I think ACB could have some exposure. Mark Meadows is in constant one on one contact with Trump. Meadows is also having close contact with ACB.

    It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

    Chuck Grassley is 89 and the oldest member of the Senate.  Mike Crapo and  John Cornyn are also pretty old.  If they lose 2 GOP Senators off the Judiciary committee then they can’t advance the nomination to the floor as they won’t have the votes

    I don’t know what the process is for replacing committee members.  But I expect there is one.

  300. 300.

    frosty

    I’m going to rack out now finally. In the time since I balanced my checkbook tonight, Hope Hicks, and now Trump have acknowledged having COVID. Can we have an embargo on more news so I can turn off the computer and get some sleep?

    I’m looking forward to AL’s COVID post in the morning so I can hide under the covers for a couple of hours.

  301. 301.

    RaflW

    Probably said upthread, but helluva way for chicken shit Pence to duck out of the drubbing Kamala’s gonna dish out.

  304. 304.

    Martin

    Nothing will change here. McConnell is not going to let ACB slip through his fingers. And I suspect Trump won’t get symptoms. I mean, Kissinger is still alive. These assholes never succumb.

  306. 306.

    jl

    @Sebastian: the key to ventilation is rate at which air is replaced w fraction recirculated low. Follow social distancing rules and planes and auditoriums can be safe with good ventilation. I would think ventilation standards checked at debate. Airline regs up to standard from news i hear.

  307. 307.

    TriassicSands

    @TaMara (HFG):

    i wasn’t saying that I think it’s a hoax, but rather that was a surprisingly common thought in the comments.

    That said, since we are dealing with possibly the most dishonest person in human history, it isn’t surprising that the idea of a hoax would occur. A way out of debating? A plea for sympathy? A chance to triumphantly defeat the “Chinese plague” and show what a manly man he is? Given the level of mendacity we’ve seen no one can ever safely believe anything he or his administration says. Which is among the countless reasons why he has to go. We can’t have a president or government whose every utterance is suspect.

    I hope this time he’s being honest. However, I won’t publicly state what I hope the outcome will be, because I am not Donald J. Trump, but you can probably guess. The only downside to that outcome would be people claiming that this proves definitively that there really is karma. (I’m just kidding there.)

    PS You may have understated the evilness of Trump!

  308. 308.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @HeleninEire: LOL. Fox just said that Trump has no co-morbidities. Also, the only negative thing is he works soooooo hard.

    If the rumors of Trump’s speed addiction are true then that’s a pretty serious co-mordity

  310. 310.

    joel hanes

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I am 67 and fat and sedentary and smoked for 20 years, have mild hypertension for which I take statins.  Blood type A.

    I mostly stay home.  When I must go near other people, I wear a cotton tie-behind mask over a synthetic ear-loops mask, and closed-side shop safety glasses.

    And I take wet washcloths and wash my face and then my hands with soap and water immediately upon getting back to the car, paying particular attention around the eyes and nose.

  312. 312.

    jl

    @Sister Golden Bear: Problem is so far the research on outbreaks in trains n planes can’t distinguish between closely bunched infected travel groups families etc and transmission via air circulation. Marm Kilpatrick on twitter goes over the research in detail.

  315. 315.

    lol chikinburd

    Arguments that Trump would have little to gain from faking COVID don’t allay my suspicion at all, as they rely on the assumption that that gang have an actual competent grasp of such considerations.  What they surely do know is that their man needs a severe disruption of the dynamic to have any chance at all, and this does rather seem to disrupt the dynamic.

    Would it work?  Remains to be seen.  Would they try something like this whether they had any clue if it would work or not?  Plausible to me.

  316. 316.

    JPL

    Will trump risk looking like a hypocrite if he now insists on folks wearing a mask?   He might say that he always followed the guidelines and insisted people wear masks.   That might be difficult knowing how many times he mocked Joe.

  317. 317.

    Ruckus

    I think it’s possible that he’s lying, but I’d say that given the number of people exposed within his small group of morons he probably does have it. And at his age and health he’s not a very good candidate to survive. Was talking tonight to a buddy who is 3 yrs older than me and a month older than trump. He called to give me the news. My take is that he’s too concerned on his own health, even at the level that he doesn’t give a damn about anyone else, to fake this, although I see the reasons he might. I’m going to go with the premise that he has it and if he gets better then he was lying. Because he’s about as healthy as – he’s not healthy at all. So to me this is the end of his presidency. If he has it I’d bet he’ll be on a ventilator in 2 weeks or less and at that point dense is going to have to do a 25th. But in any event I’d bet that within 3 weeks we will know it was bullshit or dense will be president, one way or another. And that could lead to President Pelosi rather quickly.

    How real is this shit?

  319. 319.

    Grace

    @GrannyMC: Ahhh, now this makes some sense. Dump and his gang who can’t shoot straight didn’t even have to come up with it. Mitch McConnell could have arranged a ‘positive’ test to get Dump’s ass off teevee, to avoid further damage to his Senate candidates. Another upside: neither Dump nor any senator/candidate will be asked any more troublesome questions about denouncing white supremacists. It’ll be all Covid, all the time. Not great for Dump, but some desperately needed breathing room for keeping a Senate majority. At this point that’s likely the best the GOP can hope for.

  321. 321.

    Mel

     

    @TriassicSands:  Oh, absolutely!

    It horrifies me to see people wearing only  a face shield (or worse, one of those utterly useless “chin based shields” that basically funnel their breath up and directly into the face of anyone nearby).

    Shields are good for droplet protection and for eye protection, but they don’t  do a hell of a lot to protect people around the wearer from the wearer’s exhalations unless there’s a mask underneath.

    Years of immunosuppressive meds make you realize just how easy it is to catch respiratory infections, and likewise how easy it is to accidentally make someone else ill.

    Scary enough when it’s flu season, but terrifying with Covid-19.

  322. 322.

    JPL

    @lol chikinburd: More likely that he tested positive earlier and gave it to Hope and his wife.   Maybe he was taking steroids on Tuesday.  The White House lies so often, we might never know the truth.

  323. 323.

    montanareddog

    I hope we are in for the GOSOAT (greatest October surprise of all time) where the shitgibbon pines for the fjords, is bereft of life, ceases to be, becomes an ex-shitgibbon.

  327. 327.

    Mel

    @joel hanes: I keep a travel sized spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol and a sealed packet of  kleenex in my bag, and use that to spray and wipe my face shield before I take it off, and spritz my hair. Washcloth in the car for face cleaning,  as well.

    We are living in strange times, for sure.

  328. 328.

    jl

    @joel hanes: no rule can protect any individual 100 percent from any infectious disease, that is just common sense. Research on transmission not as conclusive as you state, I gave ref to read up in previous comment.

    For any individual who is out and about at all, the situation is inherently very uncertain. We just have accept that.

  329. 329.

    TriassicSands

    @TaMara (HFG):

    i wasn’t saying that I think it’s a hoax, but rather that was a surprisingly common thought in the comments.

    That said, since we are dealing with possibly the most dishonest person in human history, it isn’t surprising that the idea of a hoax would occur. A way out of debating? A plea for sympathy? A chance to triumphantly defeat the “Chinese plague” and show what a manly man he is? Given the level of mendacity we’ve seen no one can ever safely believe anything he or his administration says. Which is among the countless reasons why he has to go. We can’t have a president or government whose every utterance is suspect.

    I hope this time he’s being honest. However, I won’t publicly state what I hope the outcome will be, because I am not Donald J. Trump, but you can probably guess. The only downside to that outcome would be people claiming that this proves definitively that there really is karma. (I’m just kidding there.)

    PS You may have understated the evilness of Trump!

  330. 330.

    Mel

    @Morzer:

    I’m definitely on the proletarian end of the PPE purchasing scale!

    Maybe I should dig out the old Ronco Bedazzler and give the House of Vuitton a run for its money, though…

  334. 334.

    TriassicSands

    @Mel:

    I raise a toast with my immunosuppressive meds to your immunosuppressive meds.

    Right now I’m just hoping for a November 3rd Trump suppressant.

  335. 335.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @Martin: I don’t wish ill on anyone (well… other than briefly, in moments of weakness or levity); but I must confess, if Trump died of Covid-19, and someone were to say it was divine justice, I couldn’t muster an argument against it (other than the obvious: “if a god or God decided to do this, why wait *this long*?”).

    That said, I have no problem saying “damn shame you didn’t decide to squash community spread, rather than hope the economy would look good enough for an Electoral win.”

    @Elizabelle: I agree – it would really suck for all the likely criminal cases to become moot by his death. I’ll be brutally honest here: that the Republican Party hasn’t condemned him soundly already suggests to me that there’s a lot of dirt that *needs* to be uncovered – and by “dirt” I mean “criminal behavior that will only come to light if a scared, cowardly punk like Trump gets a chance to flip.”

    I mean, *seriously*, who would try to re-elect this total loser? I’ve seen people say the debate was a national embarrassment, as if having the POTUS break the law, extort an ally, and all to get dare-I-say Trumped up charges “investigated,” wasn’t a national humiliation far, far, worse than a two-bit punk acting like a two-bit punk for 90 minutes.

  339. 339.

    prostratedragon

    @LongHairedWeirdo:
    Thank you for the perspective adjustment:

    I’ve seen people say the debate was a national embarrassment, as if having the POTUS break the law, extort an ally, and all to get dare-I-say Trumped up charges “investigated,” wasn’t a national humiliation far, far, worse than a two-bit punk acting like a two-bit punk for 90 minutes.

  341. 341.

    JPL

    if Hope is ultimately what ends this presidency then you really gotta hand it to Obama

    @reluctant_horse

  342. 342.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @RinaX: Unless there was far more contact than was shown at the debate, the odds that Biden has it are minimal. Biden is smart, which is undoubtedly why that simple fact was so threatening to Trump.

    Dear god – that means the debate was an even bigger self-own (or, at this point, is it “self-pwn”?) than it looked.

    (I do want to emphasize, I’m not saying that Trump got Covid-19 “proves he is stupid” – lots of smart, even brilliant, people got it, and died from it. However, we can’t rule out his rampant stupidity as a comorbid condition. Oh, hey, that means he won’t *really* die from Covid-19, he’ll just die from stupidity *WITH* Covid-19, per his worshipers, if he were to die, like those “poor, pathetic losers” (read as: ordinary people) he never cared about enough to try to protect.)

  343. 343.

    TriassicSands

    If I ever find the person who said, “May you live in interesting times,” I will need a damn good lawyer.

    Will 2020 ever end?

  344. 344.

    JPL

    @LongHairedWeirdo:  Olivia Troye,  the former DHS person who was on the Covid task force, said a lot in the White House thought it was either a hoax or a big nothing.

    Hope worked closely with Chris Christi prepping trump for the debate.   He could be at a real risk.

  346. 346.

    TriassicSands

    One argument that Trump didn’t know he was infected on Tuesday is quite simple and fully consistent with Trump’s character: If he had known, he would haved ignored one more rule and tried to shake hands with Biden.

  347. 347.

    jl

    @LongHairedWeirdo: i hope you are right, but for any individual it’s too uncertain to say anything. Only thing that can help us individually handle it is our individual best stress reduction technique.

  350. 350.

    Morzer

    @JPL:

    Hope worked closely with Chris Christi prepping trump for the debate.   He could be at a real risk.

    Big Chicken Pox

  353. 353.

    mrmoshpotato

    @LongHairedWeirdo:

    Dear god – that means the debate was an even bigger self-own (or, at this point, is it “self-pwn”?) than it looked. 

    I’m gonna go with “self-assclowning.”

  355. 355.

    patrick II

    After some thought,and against the better part of me, I hope he gets very sick.  Whether he dies is less important.  And it is not that I wish him ill personally.  I do, but not that ill I guess.  I hope he gets sick because his followers treat him like Superman, and no stinkin’ virus can hurt Superman.  And proof is the maskless rallies.  My hope that by Trump having serious consequences he may save the lives of others because it will be impossible to pretend it isn’t serious and he might save lives.  Getting sick and nearly dying may be the most positive thing Trump has ever done with his life.

  360. 360.

    TS (the original)

    @CarolDuhart2:

    From your link

    Hicks felt mild symptoms Wednesday evening and was quarantined on Air Force One as Trump and his entourage flew back to the White House from a rally in Minnesota. Hicks tested positive Thursday morning, The Washington Post and NBC News report, but Trump still flew to a fundraiser at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey:

    Wonder how those supporters are feeling right at this minute (or when they wake in the morning)

  362. 362.

    Emerald

    I saw a terrifying tweet from Britain, saying that when Boris Johnson got it—and he was very sick—his polls shot up. He had been equally as bad as tRump on the virus and also is responsible for lots of deaths.

    But he became suddenly popular, went back to work and fucked up the country even more.

    Honestly, I don’t care what happens to the shitgibbon, although I’d prefer to see him die in jail than in Walter Reed on a ventilator, but if this causes us to lose or only win narrowly on Nov 3rd then 2020 will be living up to its reputation.

    And we’re poised to take the Senate handily too. So now I’m scared, when I was exulting over our electoral position.

  363. 363.

    TS (the original)

    @RaflW:

    Probably said upthread, but helluva way for chicken shit Pence to duck out of the drubbing Kamala’s gonna dish out.

    100% no reason why it can’t be run online – unless one of them is ill.

  365. 365.

    TriassicSands

    @piratedan:

    Ordinarily, I would absolutely agree with you, but in this case he’d really be offering him a chance to die. 

    And that is another reason why Trump has to go — he poisons everything. I would probably never have suggested such a thing about any other president or even senator and some of them are pretty horrible people. However, none come close to Trump.

  366. 366.

    Baud

    @Emerald: Boris was not imminently facing election.  And is more sympathetic than Trump, which isn’t saying a lot. This doesn’t help Trump.

  368. 368.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @jl: silly note, but I saw a doc say “if you’re home, alone, and have washed your hands since last going out, you can pick your nose safely.”

    And that’s an okay message, because, remember, the only known, certain, form of transmission is “being exposed to someone who has the infection already.” Surface transmission *may* be possible (it’s really hard to prove that surface transmission is *im*possible), but with millions of cases, breathing it in is the only known, common, source of transmission.

     

    @Adam L Silverman: Damn, that’s cold. And funny, I grant, and fully *appropriate*. But damn, that’s cold. Me ‘ats off to you.

    @Adam L Silverman: ibid.

  370. 370.

    JPL

    @Emerald: Yup but assuming that the asshole is not on a ventilator, Biden will remind everyone of the times that trump mocked masks.  If he is on a ventilator, Biden can remind everyone to wear masks.

  371. 371.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @Martin: And let me assure you, I *can’t* blame you, or even be disappointed. (Okay: unless you were the mentor who taught *me* to try not to wish ill on others. But unless your name is Clive Staples Lewis, and you faked your own death, that’s vanishingly unlikely. )

  373. 373.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    People on the right are demanding sympathy and well wishes for a man who doesn’t seem to care about anyone else’s well-being but his own. https://t.co/vHvk9HOmAQ
    — Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) October 2, 2020

    People are welcome to rise above and send thoughts and prayers, but, given this president’s behavior and his conscious strategy to let blue states fend for themselves against #COVID19, 200,000 deaths later, you can’t be surprised that people are feeling less than charitable.
    — Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) October 2, 2020

  374. 374.

    GrannyMC

    For those who were wondering about covid transmission on airliners, about half the air is recycled through filtration and the rest is exterior air warmed with engine heat. The standard filtration removes about 2/3 of pathogens but there are better filters available and some airlines have said they are using them. It is safe to assume that Air Force One has a much better system than commercial airliners.

  376. 376.

    Aussie Sheila

    @A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan):

    I hope he recovers sufficiently to restart campaigning in 14 days. So that he experiences a landslide loss, and that this time next year is spending quality time responding to the NYS AG subpoenas re his campaign finances, his taxes and his business ties to the Russian mafia.

    This is bad news for covid 19, and good news for the world.

  378. 378.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Trump’s entourage entered the debate hall without face coverings, or removed them as they sat down, and refused an offer of masks from a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic, which was co-hosting the event.

    Biden’s guests wore masks. https://t.co/pzqrrYDVZa
    — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 2, 2020

  379. 379.

    Cermet

    Assuming the rump has it and gets extremely sick understand he will not be put on a ventilator – those have a very high death rate. Rather, he’ll get a heart lung machine. Those work really well but are very expensive and reserved for younger people who get very ill; of course, if he gets that ill he will get that device since he is the oranage fart cloud in chief. There is no way he’s at the white house if he really tested positive. But there is zero chance we will know the truth unless he ends up in the ICU.

  380. 380.

    TriassicSands

    @Emerald: …although I’d prefer to see him die in jail than in Walter Reed on a ventilator…

    Sadly, the jail part will probably never happen. We have put our presidents above the law and it would be dangerous for a Democratic administration to prosecute a former president. That has to be a job for state prosecutors. Fortunately, there are some very good prosecutors in New York.

    I don’t care where he dies, but I do want him to live long enough to experience the humiliation of losing to Joe. The only thing better would be if he lost to a woman. (Even that wouldn’t be the best thing, but it is at least plausible in 2020.)

  382. 382.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @LongHairedWeirdo: I wonder where it came from then  … I’ve always liked it as a saying because it takes history down from 50,000 feet (when you learn things from books and have no real investment in what some situation was like), and into real life, where living through “interesting times”  can vary from PITA to deadly.  Like the difference between looking at pictures of refugees in a news article and being a refugee yourself, for example.

  383. 383.

    Morzer

    I wonder how many times Fauci has smiled enigmatically tonight and murmured “He chose… poorly.”

  384. 384.

    TriassicSands

    @A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan):

    It was, but I was joking and people do say it frequently. The point being, 2020 has been much, much too interesting already and we still have three months to go. During the first month, the GOP will do everything it can to fix the election — e.g., see Trump toady Abbott’s orders to eliminate all but one drop box in every Texas county. Harris county will have one drop box for 2,000 square miles.

    Abbott claims he’s worried about security, but every sane person knows he really fears what all Republicans fear most…free and fair elections.

  386. 386.

    TS (the original)

    @sukabi:

    I didn’t know that – but I love the idea of the moderator being able to control who can be heard – and no way they get to override by yelling.

  387. 387.

    J R in WV

    @Sebastian:

    If he’s in quarantine he can do the debate on Zoom.

    I was gonna say, “If he can talk!” BUT maybe best if he can’t talk, really.

    And if both Pence and Trump are ill to the point where they cannot execute the duties of the office of President of the US — Then Madame Speaker Pelosi will become the Acting President, the first Female President in a sense. Which some progressives have talked about for the past 3.9 years.

    OMG 2020 what are you doing to us! I was just gonna catch up on  tomorrow’s weather forecast, but there’s NEWS coming at us 24×7…

  389. 389.

    Gvg

    Unless he has no symptoms or very few and a quick recovery, I think this may discourage republican voters.

  390. 390.

    Morzer

    @Baud: Pence is experiencing a blend of extreme lust and extreme fear: lust for power, fear that Trump might recover.

  391. 391.

    TriassicSands

    @A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan):

    LongHairedWeirdo is right about the true origin of the expression. It has long been attributed to the Chinese, but it’s just as likely to have come out of a fortune cookie in San Francisco.

    It’s amazing how many famous quotes and sayings are mis-attributed. Mark Twain said this, or Thomas Jefferson said that, but when scholars search they can’t find any evidence of the source. It may be they get attributed to people who seem like plausible sources. Something witty? Twain. Who has more credibility as a wit? Something intelligent about government? Why not Jefferson, he did say lots of smart things about government.

    In the future there will probably be an endless number of really stupid things attributed to Donald J. Trump that he never said or tweeted.. After all, no one has said or tweeted more stupid things than Trump.

  394. 394.

    Mary G

    The electoral college is built for late swaps, more than any other elected position. Would not be surprised to see Pence-Ivanka emerge over the next week.— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) October 2, 2020

  396. 396.

    TS (the original)

    @Baud:

    Good Morning Baud

    Seems that those of us on the underside of the world may have heard about trump and his virus before most Americans. Interesting that it was announced around 2am Eastern Time.

    I am waiting to hear from the Biden team. Not something they ever wanted to hear – especially a couple of days after a debate.

  397. 397.

    Morzer

    @Mary G: I’d have thought that Don Jr. had better connections within the political wing of Trumpism. I would guess that Ivanka is much more dependent on Daddy for her status.

  398. 398.

    Brachiator

    @TriassicSands:

    It’s amazing how many famous quotes and sayings are mis-attributed. Mark Twain said this, or Thomas Jefferson said that, but when scholars search they can’t find any evidence of the source. It may be they get attributed to people who seem like plausible sources.

    Quite a number of witty sayings have also been attributed to Kurt Vonnegut. And especially in the age of the Internet, it often seems that a saying or speech gets detached from the original author because that person is not well known, and then gets re-attached to a much more famous person.

    In the future there will probably be an endless number of really stupid things attributed to Donald J. Trump that he never said or tweeted.. After all, no one has said or tweeted more stupid things than Trump.

    This is too funny! But you are probably absolutely right on.

    It would only be too ironic and too fitting if this is all that Trump is remembered for in the future.

  399. 399.

    jl

    @TriassicSands: Twain is hard to figure, since he tossed off so much stuff at speeches and lectures. OTOH, everyone with a new Jape to promote knows you can double the funny by attributing it to Twain.

  401. 401.

    PST

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Think that over 200,000 people are dead because of this orange bastard.

    Think how many lives Trump could save by dying if that’s what it takes to convince more people to mask up.

  403. 403.

    TriassicSands

    @patrick II: Getting sick and nearly dying may be the most positive thing Trump has ever done with his life.

    By that logic, dying would be even more positive. Knowing Trump, he could be extremely ill, but after recovering he’d claim it was no big deal ‘cuz he’s so tough. History tells us that when a president is ill, the American people are often lied to. So, we may never know how sick Trump gets until later, unless his illness is mild and he’s somehow on TV every day.

    However, if he dies, not only would the seriousness of the virus be communicated, but it would also emphasize the emptiness of so much of what Trump has said. Without overtly wishing he will die, I would say that unless his death somehow changed the outcome of the election (with Republicans winning the presidency and/or retaining control of the Senate), Trump’s death would be extraordinarily positive in many ways. That is meant as an objective judgment, not a moral one.

    Trump is a horrible human being and a terrible president. The world would be a better place without him. It would be just as beneficial if he were simply absent publicly and we never heard from him again. I don’t see how that would be possible short of death, a massive stroke, or the like. If you gave me the choice, all I would care about his having him gone. I wouldn’t care if he were alive or dead. Just gone.

  404. 404.

    TriassicSands

    @jl:…you can double the funny by attributing it to Twain.

    You’re right. Twain was funny, so it’s a sure thing.

  405. 405.

    TriassicSands

    @Brachiator:  It would only be too ironic and too fitting if this is all that Trump is remembered for in the future.

    I think the one way Trump can guarantee that won’t be the case is to succumb to COVID-19. He will then be known as the man who caught a hoax and died from it. That’s a reasonable definition of a, to quote The Donald, “loser.” (I think Mark Twain said that, but it might have been Socrates.)

     

    Good night.

  406. 406.

    J R in WV

    @Sebastian:

    I am not familiar with the AC/ventilation system on AF1 but it’s still just a plane and not that big.

    AF1 is a Boeing 747, among the largest aircraft flying currently.

    There is one Airbus aircraft larger than a 747, and a Russian cargo aircraft quite a bit larger. And I’m sure they have super filtration in case of warfare conditions — for fallout or CBW. But still, being close to an infected person, ignoring masks…

  411. 411.

    Brachiator

    @TriassicSands:

    History tells us that when a president is ill, the American people are often lied to. So, we may never know how sick Trump gets until later…

    When Boris Johnson got sicker and had to be admitted to the ICU, Dominic Raab took over temporarily. If Trump is hospitalized and has to be put on a ventilator, Pence is supposed to become acting president. But I can see Trump and his people trying to get around this.

    Where is Pence? What’s his health status?

    The next few days are going to be fun.

  412. 412.

    TS (the original)

    @Baud:

    Today is going to be nuts in the U.S.

    I probably would have said interesting, but I’ll go with nuts.

  415. 415.

    Geminid

    Covid-19 spikes among those attending trump’s recent rallies will soon be evident. The decision to hold those rallies was reckless, and trump’s illness will throw a harsh back light on them.

  416. 416.

    schrodingers_cat

    @MomSense: You and me both. He bombed the first debate so now he doesn’t want to debate again. Could that be the reason. I don’t trust these people.

  420. 420.

    SFAW

    @RinaX: 

    I’m rooting for Stephen Miller to get a bad case.

    Fuck that. I want him to be under the apocryphal 16-ton weight dropped on him, followed up by a Bengal tiger, just in case.

  421. 421.

    SFAW

    @Wyatt Salamanca:

    P.S. Fuck the NY Yankees

    For years, whenever I saw “FTFY,” I thought of Steve Gilliard’s “Fuck the fucking Yankees,” not “fixed that for you.”

    As a proud Mets fan — although I actually have no special animus toward the Yanks — I approve that message.

  423. 423.

    SFAW

    @Baud:

    Mother disapproves of lust.

    Only that exhibited by Dense. But as with every RWMF, it’s projection; she’s OK with lusting after her own boy-toy. Any truth to the rumor that it’s Paulie Blue-Eyes? It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  425. 425.

    SFAW

    @debbie:

    I just heard that the president of Poland hoped that President Trump would not drink bleach.

    Why does he not want Trump to take any/all therapies available?

  429. 429.

    lowtechcyclist

    Anything Trump says needs independent confirmation.  What source has confirmed his positive test result?

  431. 431.

    SFAW

    @TS (the original):

    This stops all business in Congress, as Trump and Amy Coney Barrett were with McConnell, met with other senators.All must quarantine. No business can go on. The nomination to SCOTUS must wait until after the election.— Michelangelo Signorile, subscribe to my newsletter (@MSignorile) October 2, 2020

    R-i-i-i-ight. It’ll take more than that to keep Traitor Turtle from his appointed destruction of the US rounds

  432. 432.

    Miss Bianca

    Damn, did all of you stay up all night last night? I saw the news in the thread one over and promptly took a double dose of melatonin to knock myself out, because I figured natural sleep might be a hopeless venture, between evil thoughts toward the Trump clan and worry over the Bidens being possibly exposed.

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