The latest
World reacts to Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis
News that the world’s most powerful man was infected with the world’s most notorious disease drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity surrounding everything about President Donald Trump.
Trump’s announcement Friday, on Twitter, that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and the deep uncertainty that accompanied it, flashed across screens large and small, upending countless plans and sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands looking to weigh in on social media.
The positive test reading for the leader of the world’s largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors’ worries, especially about its effect on the Nov. 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.
World leaders were quick to weigh in, with official sympathy from the top and something approaching schadenfreude elsewhere. Trump joins a growing list of the powerful who have contracted the virus, including many who were skeptical of the disease.
News
8:58 a.m. Shares, oil prices sink after Trump tests positive for virus
U.S. stock futures and Asian shares fell Friday after President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials dropped nearly 2% but were trading 1.2% lower several hours later. Oil prices tumbled about 3%.
Trump tweeted news of his test results just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week.
The positive test reading for the leader of the world’s largest economy heaps uncertainty onto a growing pile of unknowns investors are grappling with, first among them how it might affect the Nov. 3 election and American policies on trade, tariffs and many other issues beyond then.
“To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement,” Rabobank said in a commentary. “Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this US election campaign.”
7:48 a.m. President Trump and first lady test positive for COVID-19
President Donald Trump said early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election.
Trump, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans, said he and Mrs. Trump were quarantining. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties “without disruption” while recovering.
Still, Trump’s diagnosis was sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington, raising questions about how far the virus had spread through the highest levels of the U.S. government. Hours before Trump announced he had contracted the virus, the White House said a top aide who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive.
Read the full initial report here.
6:13 a.m. Pritzker to self-isolate after staff member tests positive for COVID-19
Gov. J.B. Pritzker will self-isolate for 14 days after a member of his staff tested positive for COVID-19.
The staff member, who was not identified by state officials, tested positive for the virus Monday after testing negative for the virus last week during weekly testing, according to Pritzker’s office.
That staffer attended events with Pritzker on Wednesday in Chicago, Thursday in Marion and Sunday in Marseilles; both the governor and the staffer were wearing masks during their interactions.
New cases
Public health officials on Thursday announced 2,166 more people have contracted COVID-19 in Illinois as the virus claimed 25 more lives statewide.
More than 295,000 residents have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic hit six months ago, with 8,696 of those cases proving fatal. Among the latest victims was a Cook County woman in her 40s, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Analysis & Commentary
9:18 a.m. Cover ‘Trump gets COVID’ on your Disaster Bingo card
It’s terrible to be sick.
Even when you have good health insurance and the best medical care. Even when you’re the president of the United States. Even when contracting this particular illness reeks of karma, of payback, of divine justice, the way it does for President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, who announced early Friday they have tested positive for COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has killed a million people worldwide, including 206,000 Americans.
There will no doubt be a certain amount of gloating, of snide “thoughts and prayers” chortling. Guess that hydroxychloroquine didn’t do the trick after all, huh?
I can see why. Only Tuesday Trump was in full bore bullying mode at the first presidential debate in Cleveland, speaking over his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, insulting him and the rest of us.
But the quality that ties one hand behind the back of Democrats in this fight is our ability to empathize with other people, even bad people. And in truth I have always felt sorry for Trump, clearly a broken man, his ego so damaged it must be constantly stroked. Living proof that you can be rich, famous, powerful and still a pathetic excuse for a human being who just can’t stop talking, mostly about himself.
