As the world digests the bombshell news that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have both tested positive for the potentially deadly coronavirus that they’ve spent so long trying to diminish the severity of and ignoring the warnings and recommendations of experts.
As the news broke last night, Trump penned an unusually cheery message to his Twitter, confirming that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19. Melania followed with a similar message to her social media this morning.
To the public’s eye, the First Couple seems to be in high spirits and not at all concerned about their potentially fatal diagnosis. However, multiple reports are now telling of a different story inside the walls of the White House and throughout the Trump administration.
NBC News reporter John Santucci described an environment of “sheer panic” inside the White House today and Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman reports a similar picture.
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Sherman, citing a report from the New York Times, writes, “‘They are worried about the president because of his age,’ one of the sources said. Sources said Trump will likely want to be seen in public as soon as possible to blunt the narrative that he is sidelined by the virus he’s spent the last six months downplaying. ‘He’s going to want to get out there a lot sooner than people think,’ the former official said. ‘But it will be hard to hide if he’s sick. Also, who will want to be in a room with him?'”
Sherman noted that the White House did not respond to requests for comment. He also reports that sources are saying multiples aides are extremely concerned about what this means for the remainder of Trump’s campaign. With one former West Wing official telling Sherman, “There really can be nothing for 14 days. It’s as if the campaign ended yesterday.”
But perhaps the most interesting part of the Vanity Fair report was the information revealed regarding White House aide Hope Hicks.
“Hicks is said to be frustrated with Trump for taking such a cavalier approach to the virus. She was one of the few West Wing staffers to wear a mask in meetings, which her colleagues chided her for,” Sherman reports. He also adds that Hicks was allegedly “made fun of because she wore a mask” according to a friend.
“Sources told me Hicks is also upset that news coverage has made it appear that she gave Trump the virus, when in fact no one knows where he got it,” Sherman writes.
As we watch this virus continue to spread like wildfire throughout Trump’s government, with more and more people popping up positive with each passing moment, Sherman’s report paints a picture of an administration that’s beginning to crack under the pressure. Every man and woman for themselves.
You can read the full Vanity Fair report here.
Featured image via screen capture
