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Like a lot of Americans, I expected to feel some sense of vindication when Donald Trump announced via Twitter, naturally that he and the First Lady had tested positive for the coronavirus. At long last, the virus had infected the man whos spent months lying about its severity, undermining public health officials, peddling quack cures, and urging his armed followers to liberate themselves from the horrors of wearing masks in public.

But what I actually felt was a hollow dread, one that quickly gave way to mistrust. Unable to resist my own Trumpian impulses, I sent a pair of tweets, which read as follows:

He tells the world he has COVID, owns the libs by beating it "very strongly," then returns to the campaign trail in triumph. Very Reality TV. I'm not joking. Given this regime's record of shameless lying, journalists should demand independent verification before reporting as fact anything this White House says. It may be true. Maybe his arrogant negligence caught up with him. But he also knew he was losing and needed to shake up the race. This makes him a victim/survivor who can minimize the plague he unleashed.

The point here isnt that Trump has created his very own little COVID hoax. Its not even whether Trump would or could do such a thing. The point is that he has done so much to undermine public faith that its impossible to outright dismiss such a sociopathic ploy.

As veterans of autocratic nations have long observed, Trump hasnt just waged a war against vulnerable groups or democratic norms. He has waged a war against truth. More precisely, the very idea that Americans can be united in a shared set of truths.

Trump hasnt just waged a war against vulnerable groups or democratic norms. He has waged a war against truth.

COVID is just the most obvious example. Through a combination of willful ignorance, gullibility, and subterfuge, Trump has signaled to millions of Americans that the coronavirus pandemic is a hoax, or a fleeting threat, or merely an obstacle to be pushed out of view so that the stock market can again rev up the American engines of greed. Hes become the patient zero of COVID misinformation, a one-man super-spreader of the disease.

You can hear this in the way he talks about COVID-19. He doesnt address the virus as a biological reality that kills human beings and leaves behind grief-stricken survivors. He speaks of a China virus he can render as an invader, or as set of case numbers and statistics to be manipulated, lest they cause people to view him as a loser.

For Trump, the coronavirus is never something thats happening to other people. He doesnt care that more than 200,000 Americans are dead. He doesnt care that tens of millions are unemployed. He doesnt care that our kids can no longer go to school, or hug their friends. He doesnt even care about the super fans who pack his rallies, or the donors who mingled with him in the hours after his closest advisor tested positive. Even his own nomination ceremony of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in the White House Rose Garden is being viewed now as a potential superspreader event. (Already, attendees Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who was maskless, and the president of Notre Dame, Rev. John I. Jenkins, have tested positive.)

Trump will not accept his own illness as proof that COVID is truly lethal. Nor will it inspire him to be honest with his supporters, and work to develop a national strategy to combat the virus, as Boris Johnson did after he was rushed to the hospital with the virus in April.

That would require of him something he cannot give: humility. Trumps sole focus will be whether contracting the coronavirus can help him cling to power.

Think about how he reacted to the terrorist attacks of September 11. As first responders were sifting through the wreckage for bones, he bragged that one of his buildings was now the tallest in Manhattan. Thats just who he is: a malignant abuser, a moral blackhole.

In the days and weeks to come, our free press must resist the urge to get distracted by the latest twist in this demented reality TV presidency. Journalists of good faith should keep the focus on the issues that now puts our democracy at risk: voter suppression, racial incitement, the ravages of a resurgent plague.

Trump was merely a virus who came along and exploited our worst impulses.

As citizens of good faith, we would like to believe that there will be a reckoning for this president, that the virus he ignored for so long will, at last, hold him accountable, even if his enablers wont.

Thats not whats going to happen. Trumps only thought is likely to be: how can I exploit this to my own benefit? How can I use my condition to further divide us, to erode our sense of shared struggle?

Americans can overcome this pandemic. We can also restore some semblance of justice and mercy to our democracy. But there wont be a true reckoning in this country until we accept the destructive power of our grievance and scorn and nihilism. In this sense, Trump was merely a virus who came along and exploited our worst impulses.

We can recover from him, too. The only known cure, in fact, is the one he fears most: a free and fair election.

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Donald Trump Has The Virus. What Will He Do With It? - WBUR

Do you know why Donald Trump was treated with Remdesivir?

US President Donald Trump began treatment with the drug remdesivir last Friday, said Sean Conley, a White House physician.

Trump finished his first dose and will receive the drug for five days, added Dr. Brian Garibaldi. The use of this drug was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration on May 1, after an investigation showed positive effects from its use, which ones?

A study by Gilead Sciences, the maker of remdesivir, indicated that the mortality rate for patients treated with the drug was 7.6% on day 14 of treatment compared to 12.5% among patients who did not receive it, noted El Financial.

That analysis also showed that 74.4% of remdesivir-treated patients recovered by day 14, compared to 59% of patients receiving standard-of-care treatment alone.

Depositphotos.com

Remdesivir blocks the SARS-CoV-2 virus RNA polymerase, one of the key enzymes the pathogen needs to replicate its genetic material (RNA) and proliferate in the bodies of infected people.

The drug has already been tested in Mexico as part of clinical trials and with positive results.

Related:Sabes por qu Donald Trump fue atendido con Remdesivir?Do you know why Donald Trump was treated with Remdesivir?Donald Trump and Melania Have Tested Positive for Covid-19

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Do you know why Donald Trump was treated with Remdesivir? - Thehour.com

(Mark Meadows attribution added) UPDATE: Just minutes after President Donald Trumps physician presented a relatively rosy picture of his COVID-19 condition, a source familiar with the presidents health gave a much more concerning picture.

The presidents vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. Were still not on a clear path to a full recovery, the source said in the statement, which was sent to members of the White House pool.

In point of fact that source is White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. In a rookie move at best, the ex-Congressman was captured on camera earlier today walking over to reporters right after the doctors press conference and asking to be off the record.

Additionally, the New York Times and the AP is reporting that sources tells them Trump was given supplemental oxygen at the White House on Friday before being choppered over to Walter Reed Medical Center later that day. The question of oxygen being administered was deflected by Dr. Sean Conley during the brief presser in front of Walter Reed this morning.

The latest head spinning near 180-degree turn comes as former New Jersey Governor and Trump confidante Chris Christine also revealed he had tested positive with the coronavirus. Gov. Christie had been deeply involved in Trumps prep for the first Presidential debate and had traveled on Air Force One to Cleveland for that event.

In further acknowledgement of how far literally and figuratively the spread of the virus is effecting Washington DC. Now that Sen. Ron Johnson (R- Wis) has become the third GOP member of the body to contract COVID-19, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has had to confront some political and mathematical realities. With the Republican majority of 53 hobbled by the temporary loss of Johnson as well as Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), McConnell had put the business of the Senate on hold, sort of.

On Monday, I intend to obtain a consent agreement for the Senate to meet in pro forma sessions for the next two weeks, the Kentucky Senators office said Saturday. Previously-scheduled floor activity will be rescheduled until after October 19th.

At this point while the full Senate wont meet, the effort to push through the SCOTUS conformation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett wont stop, at least for now.

The important work of the Senates committees can and will continue as each committee sees fit, McConnell said today The Senate Judiciary Committee will convene on October 12th as Chairman Graham has scheduled to begin confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barretts nomination to the Supreme Court. The Senates floor schedule will not interrupt the thorough, fair, and historically supported confirmation process previously laid out by Chairman Graham.

As it becomes more and more likely that the September 26 Rose Garden event for Barretts nomination was the superspreader that is taking more and more members of the GOP elite into quarantine, McConnell could be dealt a hand of even fewer active members soon.

PREVIOUSLY: President Donald Trumps physician said that he has been doing very well, and was not on supplemental oxygen at the present time.

But Dr. Sean Conley, appearing with a team of physicians treating the president, still left some questions as to the timeline of when Trump last tested negative and when he first learned that he tested positive.

Conley said that it was 72 hours since Trumps diagnosis, but Trump revealed that he tested positive around 1 AM ET on Friday morning, less than two days ago.

If Trump was diagnosed earlier than was revealed, it raises concerns on whether he continued to maintain an active schedule of travel and campaign appearances. That included a trip to Minnesota on Wednesday evening. Already there are questions of why Trump forward with a trip to Bedminster, NJ, for a fundraiser on Thursday afternoon, after White House officials had already learned that one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, had tested positive.

Conley put forth a positive message about the presidents recovery, but would not say how long Trump would remain at Walter National Military Medical Center, where he was taken early on Friday evening.

We are monitoring him very closely for any evidence of complications, Conley told reporters at the Bethesda facility.

Conley said that Trump was not on oxygen, but pressed by reporters, the doctor was a bit opaque on the question of whether the president had been on any kind of assisted breathing device since he was diagnosed.

Donley said that Trump had a mild cough and nasal congestion but was improving and in exceptionally good spirits. As Conley revealed on Friday, Trump is being treated with the antiviral drug Remdesivir.

Conley said that the president has been fever free for over 24 hours and that they remain cautiously optimistic. He said that he had a fever Thursday into Friday, but Conley would not say exactly what his temperature was.

Continued here:
White House Chief Of Staff Says Next 48 Hours Will Be Critical For Donald Trumps Care: Were Still Not On A Clear Path To A Full Recovery - Deadline

We were a little over 24 hours into October before it gave us this surprise. The news that Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpState Department revokes visa of Giuliani-linked Ukrainian ally: report White House Gift Shop selling 'Trump Defeats COVID' commemorative coin Biden says he should not have called Trump a clown in first debate MORE and the first lady have tested positive for the coronavirus shows the reach of the pandemic. It will provide another test of our national institutions. Immediate issues are raised on the continuity of government as the president is in isolation. Hopefully preparations for incapacity are unnecessary, but they have to be considered.

On the domestic front, there are matters of the campaign narrative, but the international stage also needs careful signaling. Already reshaped by the pandemic, the campaign now faces uncertainty over future debates, and the worst case scenario with incapacity of a candidate in an election with voting underway. These coming days will not only set precedents in the future of our government norms, but will also remind us of the shaky foundations on which many authorities and procedures rest.

The current concern is over the health of all those affected. Separate from politics, this is the process of tracing and testing those in contact with the president, isolating the infected, and providing the treatments needed to overcome this illness. Hopefully the lessons learned, some tragically, over the last several months of fighting this disease will assist the outcomes of those who are diagnosed in the aftermath of this situation.

Yet there are many unknowns of the coronavirus, as many of the issues discussed depend on the course of the health of the president. History showed us that leaders like Woodrow Wilson and John Kennedy did not disclose health information to the public and, in an election year, there will be concerns about transparency of the diagnosis of the president. Both candidates are in the age range considered higher risk, while the history of the president downplaying the magnitude of this crisis have created skepticism over White House statements about it.

As the president heads to Walter Reed Medical Center, there will be some disruption to the operations in the administration. But the president is still able to operate from anywhere on earth, so a few days in the hospital will hardly isolate him. Should the current situation unfortunately worsen, the 25th Amendment would be considered, which would allow the president to transfer authorities to the vice president or, should the president have incapacity, allow the transfer of authorities if the vice president as well as a majority of the cabinet declare such an incapacity exists.

Social media will allow the president to engage with the public, while the technology of the military retains the commander in chief in charge. The Constitution and our laws provide clear guidance for handling incapacity and the continuity of government. It will be important in the coming days for the vice president and military leaders to send resolute confidence in our vigilance to any potential of adversaries trying to take advantage. But the issue remains of how an administration so dependent on the whims of one man will stand up to this stress test. Will such institutions relied on by our leaders to shore up our government system be resilient?

The future of the campaign is even more uncertain. It was transformed in the pandemic, even as the president sought to return to more traditional rallies. The next debate is less than a week away and will take on a newly important narrative. Both Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris have tested negative, but will that debate take place as scheduled and will it be in person? Will future debates take place at all? Some might be relieved that a virtual debate could feature a mute button.

A greater challenge would arise should the situation worsen. The election is underway in several states with early voting and, while the parties have procedures for replacing candidates, that would have to face the various systems for ballots and voting used across the United States. It is another instance of how many terrible yet realistic events, from an incapacity of a candidate to a tragedy that impacts a significant number of the members of Congress, test the foundation of our laws and institutions.

It also reveals the perils of partisan politics in voting systems. Denigration of our methods for delivering the will of the voters during an election that is underway have set this contest on a path of declining faith. Introducing novel concepts of the power of electors into a skeptical public could lead to alarming levels of mistrust from Americans in the eventual outcome, a damaging scenario which we have been working to avoid.

The course of events will revolve around the condition of the president. Whether it can shock steady polling remains doubtful. The momentous events for 2020 have done very little to sway the tribalism of Americans. Nearly everything is viewed through partisan lenses. The same will likely be true with the health of the president and of the country.

Glenn Nye is the chief executive officer and Dan Mahaffee is senior vice president with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.

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Donald Trump coronavirus news gives another test of institutions | TheHill - The Hill

Going into the debate, Democrats feared he would change the election dynamics by either discombobulating Biden or by somehow switching to moderation and reasonableness. Instead, my guess is that Biden supporters felt utter disgust during the debate but relief and perhaps even elation afterwards.

All in all, it seemed like Trump was starting to get what he deserved, hence the schadenfreude that preceded the shock of the COVID-19 diagnosis in Trumps Twitter feed.

(OK, I admit to a bit of schadenfreude about the many health report references to Trump as obese after hes spent his entire life commenting on women based on their physical appearance. Im human.)

Look, inside Wisconsin, we still face a tricky road to return state politics from the wilderness of rule by big money. This fall, Democrats must prevent Republicans from gaining legislative supermajorities to override vetoes by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

It will also require successful campaigns both for the courts and the governors office to get fair political maps. Evers, a probable candidate, must win re-election in 2022 and a moderate or left-leaning candidate must win the next state Supreme Court seat in 2023, the next regularly scheduled election. And on from there.

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Paul Fanlund: Hoping for Donald Trumps recovery and then his defeat - Madison.com