Counselor to the President Hope Hicks has tested positive for coronavirus, and the White House tried to hide that from the American people.
It’s also possible the White House tried to hide that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive, at least for as long as possible.
The only reason the American people found out that Hicks, who has been in contact with scores of administration officials over the past week, is a report by Bloomberg News reporter Jennifer Jacobs.
This was the moment America learned of Hicks’ coronavirus status: 8:09 PM · Oct 1, 2020.
“White House officials had hoped to keep the news about Ms. Hicks from becoming public, to no avail,” The New York Times reported early Friday morning.
“Only a very small circle of people knew that Hicks had tested positive, and senior staff had hoped to keep that information private, two of the people said,” Bloomberg reported.
Talking Points Memo editor and CNN White House Correspondent:
“Some of Trump’s closest aides said they sensed on Wednesday that Trump was feeling poorly but they chalked it up to fatigue from an intense campaign schedule,” Bloomberg added. “The president seemed exhausted, one person familiar with the situation said.”
Hicks tested positive Wednesday. Jacobs reported the news Thursday evening. There’s at least 24 hours where the White House was silent about Hicks.
Worse, President Trump maintained his schedule after the White House – and possibly the president – learned of Hick’s status. He even traveled to Bedminster, New Jersey for a fundraiser.
Even after news broke of Hicks’ positive test the White House tried to pretend all was well. The White House press office sent out Trump’s official daily schedule for Friday at 10:05 PM. It showed a normal day, and even travel to Florida for a rally.
It was not until 12:54 AM Friday that Trump announced he and the First Lady had tested positive. It’s hard to believe Trump did not have a coronavirus test immediately after the White House learned about Hicks.
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