WASHINGTON: News of President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis has upended the U.S. presidential election campaign entering its final month and roiled stock markets, raising questions about succession and prompting White House aides to insist that Trump would keep a busy, if modified, schedule.
Hope Hicks, a close adviser to the president who often traveled with him on the Air Force One and Marine One presidential aircraft, had tested positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus on Thursday.
After Trump tweeted he and his wife, Melania, tested positive for COVID-19 early Friday morning, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who has had frequent contact with Trump, said she tested positive for the virus and was quarantined at home in Michigan.
Trump and some other Republicans have eschewed social distancing, mask wearing and other protocols health officials recommend to stop the spread of the virus.
Here are other White House and Trump campaign personnel who have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent months:
— U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien in late July. Before Trump’s infection, O’Brien was the highest-ranking administration official to test positive for the virus. O’Brien had mild COVID symptoms and returned to work on Aug. 4.
— Katie Miller, spokeswoman to Mike Pence, wife of Stephen Miller, a Trump senior adviser, in early May, forcing Pence to slightly delay a Pence trip to Iowa.
— Kimberly Guilfoyle, senior adviser to Trump campaign and girlfriend to Donald Trump Jr.
— Tom Phillipson, the former acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers in early June. He told the Wall Street Journal of his infection after recovering and leaving the White House in late June
— A member of the U.S. Navy who served as a personal valet to Trump tested positive in early May. The infection prompted daily tests for those working at the White House.
— A U.S. Marine assigned to Trump’s helicopter squadron tested positive for the coronavirus in late July. The squadron transports Trump and other top officials from the White House aboard the Marine One helicopter.
— A worker in a White House complex cafeteria tested positive in late July. The cafeteria is located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where some White House officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, have offices.
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