Trump Has Yet To Publicly Confirm A Negative COVID Test Ahead Of Second Balcony Stunt

Posted on by Zoe Richards

President Donald Trump is pushing ahead with an appearance at a White House gathering on Saturday, even though he has not yet publicly announced a negative test for coronavirus which CDC officials have said is a definitive benchmark for determining whether a person who contracted COVID-19 is still contagious. 

“I haven’t even found out numbers or anything yet, but I’ve been retested and I know I’m at either the bottom of the scale or free,” Trump told Fox News’ medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel during an interview on Friday. “They test every couple of days, I guess, but it’s really at a level now that’s been great — great to see it disappear.”

The fact that Trump is unable to say whether or not he has tested negative for coronavirus, comes as he prepares to deliver another speech from the White House balcony with roughly 2,000 people expected at the event and potentially at risk of infection.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden tore into the President, calling his behavior “reckless.”

“He didn’t take the necessary precautions to protect himself or others,” Biden said at a campaign event on Friday. “The longer Donald Trump is President, the more reckless he gets. How can we trust him to protect this country?”

Trump seemed to acknowledge during the Fox News interview on Friday that he may have contracted the virus at one of the recent events at the White House which has routinely flouted guidelines to protect against the spread of coronavirus. Although earlier in the week her appeared to blame Gold-Star families for his infection, he hasn’t had much to say about a Sept. 26 Rose Garden event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett where at least eight attendees later tested positive for coronavirus, including President Trump. 

Earlier on Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS News Radio during an interview that “we had a super-spreader event at the White House.”

“People were crowded together and were not wearing masks,” Fauci said in an apparent reference to the event.

The remarks follow claims by White House Strategic Communications Director Alyssa Farah who on Thursday brushed away criticism of the event and claimed that staffers “always take precautions” with events hosted on White House grounds.

Per CNN, some experts have said the Fox News interview offered little clarity about whether or not Trump remains infectious.

“They are being purposely vague on this, but I think they’re trying to track his viral load,” Dr. Sanjay Gupta told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

The White House and the President’s physicians have remained evasive about Trump’s last negative test for coronavirus. But Trump revealed during the Fox News interview that he was no longer taking medication for COVID-19 and that the steroid dexamethsaone had helped to keep “the swelling down of the lungs.”

White House physician, Dr. Sean Conley, who has been famously vague about the details of Trump’s health said in a statement earlier in the week that Saturday would mark 10 days since Trump’s diagnosis. He appeared to contradict earlier statements by preemptively appearing to clear President Trump in anticipation of his “safe return to public engagements” on Saturday.  

 

Candidates Prepare Alternate Events Amid Cancellation Of Second Presidential Debate

Posted on by Zoe Richards

The second presidential debate has been canceled, after President Donald Trump refused to participate in a modified virtual debate announced by the Commission on Presidential Debates earlier this week to ensure the safety of both candidates amid the President’s ongoing recovery from COVID-19.

“On October 8, CPD announced that for the health and safety of all involved, the second presidential debate, scheduled for October 15 in Miami, would be conducted virtually,” the commission said in a statement Friday.

“Subsequently, the campaigns of the two candidates who qualified for participation in the debate made a series of statements concerning their respective positions regarding their willingness to participate in a virtual debate on October 15, and each now has announced alternate plans for that date.

“It is now apparent there will be no debate on October 15,” the commission said.

The final debate on Oct. 22 is still expected to take place in Nashville at Belmont University where CDC guidelines for masking and social distancing will be enforced to ensure the the safety of both candidates for a one-on-one debate moderated by NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker.

The Trump campaign on Friday railed against CPD’s decision by again suggesting that there is “no medical reason” to stop the debate even though the White House has not yet provided evidence that President Trump is no longer infectious. 

“There’s nothing that says that President Trump and Joe Biden can’t debate together without the overlords at the commission having a say in the matter. We would be glad to debate one-on-one without the commission’s interference,” campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.

President Trump has not yet confirmed that he has received a negative test for coronavirus which the CDC has said is a definitive benchmark for determining whether or not a person remains contagious.

The debate’s cancellation comes after President Trump earlier this week rejected a virtual debate format that had put in place for the safety of both candidates after President Trump announced a positive test for coronavirus just days after leaving the debate stage in Cleveland, Ohio.

On Wednesday the Biden campaign announced that it had booked the Democratic presidential nominee for a town hall hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia on the originally scheduled date for the debate.

The Trump campaign is preparing to hold a counter event hosted by NBC, potentially on the same night,  three people with knowledge of the conversations told The New York Times.

The Biden campaign on Friday called Trump’s refusal to participate in the virtual contest “no surprise.”

“It’s shameful that Donald Trump ducked the only debate in which the voters get to ask the questions — but it’s no surprise. Everyone knows that Donald Trump likes to bully reporters, but obviously he doesn’t have the guts to answer for his record to voters at the same time as Vice President Biden,” Andrew Bates a Biden campaign spokesman said in a statement Friday.

Alleged Kidnapping Plot Followed Months Of Fury At Whitmer’s COVID Orders

Posted on by Matt Shuham

The alleged kidnapping plot aimed at Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and detailed by law enforcement Thursday steamed up headlines worldwide. But the state has been a boiling kettle for months, with armed groups demonstrating and widespread protests cheered on by the President.

Much of that outrage has had a specific target: Whitmer, and her COVID-19 public health orders. 

ICYMI: Your TPM Weekend News Roundup

Posted on by David Taintor

The President And The Virus

  • President Trump has kept a low profile this week as he continues to confront his coronavirus infection. But his Twitter account has been unusually active — even for him.
  • Trump started the week by going on a tear of mostly all-caps tweets, leading to some speculation among medical experts that the steroid drug treatment he was receiving resulted in a form of mania.
  • The President left Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday, returning to the White House to stage a maskless, strongman stunt on the balcony of the White House.
  • Since then, we haven’t seen Trump in person. He has posted a number of videos on Twitter boasting about how great he feels, and has called into Fox News on a number of occasions.
  • After White House physician Dr. Sean Conley cleared the President to hold in-person events as early as Saturday, Trump told Hannity that he expected to hold a rally over the weekend. But the White House poured cold water on Trump’s travel plans. Instead, Trump will reportedly appear live on Saturday at an event at the White House, where he plans to stage another of his infamous balcony moments.

The VP Debate … Flies By

  • You’d be forgiven if the only exchange you remember from the the vice presidential debate on Wednesday was between a rogue fly and Vice President Pence’s head.
  • But the more conventional affair — at least compared to the Trump-fueled chaos during the first presidential debate — produced a number of revealing moments. Pence borrowed a line from his boss and refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he and Trump lose in November.
  • Pence also drew on his experience as a talk radio host. Instead of answering the questions posed to him by moderator Susan Page of USA Today, the veep simply changed the topic time and time again.
  • Speaking of debates, the future of them remains in doubt after Trump refused to participate in the second debate, scheduled for next week, which was moved to a virtual format as a safety precaution. For obvious reasons.

A Terrifying Plot Thwarted

  • The FBI thwarted an alleged right-wing militia plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, authorities announced on Thursday.
  • One of the alleged plotters described the operation as a “snatch and grab,” and the plot allegedly involved surveilling Whitmer’s vacation home.
  • A total of 13 people face charges for the alleged plot: six men face federal charges and seven men face state charges.
  • TPM’s Matt Shuham published this helpful explainer on the still-unfolding story.
  • In her first public comments after news of the alleged plot broke, Gov. Whitmer went after Trump for his refusal to condemn white supremacy. She linked Trump’s rhetoric to the alleged plot. “Hate groups heard the President’s words not as a rebuke but as a rallying cry, as a call to action,” Whitmer said.

Is this feature useful? Let us know. 

In Alleged Plot To Kidnap Guv, Confidential Sources Captured Every Word

Posted on by Matt Shuham

The alleged ringleader of a plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan gathered several other men at his business. They were there to discuss plans for storming the state’s capitol using firearms and Molotov cocktails. 

Continue reading “In Alleged Plot To Kidnap Guv, Confidential Sources Captured Every Word” →

WaPo Details Security Firm’s Plans To Send Ex-Special Ops Personnel To Polling Places

Posted on by Tierney Sneed

Election officials in Minnesota learned of a private security firm’s plan to deploy ex-U.S. military special ops personnel to polling places only because a Washington Post reporter reached out to ask the officials about it.

Continue reading “WaPo Details Security Firm’s Plans To Send Ex-Special Ops Personnel To Polling Places” →

Sheriff Shrugs Off Alleged Whitmer Kidnapping Plot, Suggests It Might’ve Been Citizen’s Arrest

Posted on by Cristina Cabrera

Sheriff Dar Leaf of Barry County, Michigan downplayed an alleged far-right scheme to kidnap and “try” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) for “treason” during an astonishing interview on Friday.

Continue reading “Sheriff Shrugs Off Alleged Whitmer Kidnapping Plot, Suggests It Might’ve Been Citizen’s Arrest” →

Trumpworld Insists POTUS Is Clear From COVID As Campaign Ramps Back Up

Just a week after President Trump was hospitalized for coronavirus, the Trump campaign is insisting that the President has made an unprecedented, lightning-speed recovery at the ripe age of 74.

White House physician Dr. Sean Conley, after remaining largely evasive about critical aspects of the President’s health, sought to clear the President to return to public life: the President is ready for “public engagements” as soon as Saturday.

The President appeared to run with his doctor’s note, announcing late Thursday that he planned to hold a rally in person on Saturday while brushing away a question about whether he has now tested negative for coronavirus.

The Trump reelection campaign has similarly declared that there is “no medical reason” for a virtual presidential debate next week in a concerted messaging effort that President Trump’s COVID-19 battle is all but won.

Follow along with TPM as we cover the fallout of Trump’s debate disaster throughout the day: