WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump and the first lady are suffering mild, cold-like symptoms from COVID-19, his chief of staff confirmed Friday amid rising concerns about the impact of the president's infection as aides, lawmakers and the Pentagon sought to reassure a nervous public.
Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the coronavirus, his office announced, alleviating immediate concerns about the presidential line of succession should Trump's symptoms worsen to the point that he is unable to perform his duties.
With only 32 days until an election likely to hinge on voters' views of Trump's management of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump remained isolated in the White House residence. Aides insisted he was working, but his normal activities clearly came to a halt.
He didn't tweet or take part in a planned conference call with governors to discuss the pandemic. His campaign also canceled planned rallies and events featuring the president or members of his family during a critical final stretch in the race, although some may be held virtually.
Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee who pounded Trump's handling of the pandemic when they met Tuesday on the debate stage in Cleveland, tested negative for the virus Friday, according to his doctor. Dr. Jill Biden, his wife, also tested negative.
It wasn't clear if two more scheduled presidential debates would come off as planned, giving Trump a chance to recover from his widely panned performance in Tuesday's free-for-all.
Trump's activities in the past week pose a challenge for contact tracing. In addition to the debate, he hosted two rallies, participated in a dozen events and interacted with numerous supporters and donors, many of them without masks. Health officials in Minnesota and Pennsylvania urged people who attended his rallies to get tested if they felt ill.
Republicans struggled to keep their legislative plans on track, including a controversial Supreme Court nomination, while Pentagon officials tried to allay concerns about the nation's military readiness.
At the White House, some staffers suddenly wore face masks after months of eschewing the practice mostly to placate the president, and senior aides sought to calm public anxieties.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who did not wear a mask himself, said Trump showed "mild symptoms" of COVID-19 but was in "good spirits" and energetic. "His first question to me this morning was, 'How is the economy doing?'"
At 74 and obese, Trump faces increased odds to develop serious symptoms from the coronavirus. Melania Trump is 50 and at less risk.
The first lady posted a brief thank you message to well-wishers.
"I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good," she tweeted. "I am looking forward to a speedy recovery."
Although no one else in the president's inner circle had tested positive, Meadows made clear that he expects the outbreak to spread since the virus is often most contagious before symptoms appear.
"I fully expect that as this virus continues to go on other people in the White House will certainly have a positive test result." he told reporters in a driveway outside the West Wing.
He acknowledged the dangers of a virus that the president and aides have spent months downplaying, even as it has killed more than 208,000 Americans since last spring.
"Even with a lot of mitigating factors, what you have is a virus that's contagious," he said.
It's unclear where the president contracted the virus, but one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive on Thursday. She flew with him recently on Air Force One and Marine One, the president's helicopter.
Meadows sought to explain Trump's decision to travel Thursday afternoon to a fundraiser at his golf club in New Jersey after officials knew about Hicks' test results. He claimed staffers didn't learn about them until Trump was lifting off the South Lawn in the afternoon, although another aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Hicks' test had occurred hours earlier.
Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman, announced that she had also tested positive for COVID-19. She often travels with the president and was last with him last Friday when he traveled to Virginia.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of a half dozen advisers closely involved with helping the president prepare for his debate Tuesday with former Vice President Joe Biden, told ABC News on Friday that "no one was wearing masks in the room when we were prepping the president."
Biden, the Democratic nominee, said he would pray for the president and first lady.
"Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family," Biden tweeted.
The Bidens' primary care physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, said they both underwent PCR testing Friday "and COVID-19 was not detected."
"Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern," Biden tweeted later. "I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands."
Trump had mocked Biden during their debate for limiting his public appearances and frequently wearing masks, as public health experts recommend.
"I don't wear masks like him," Trump said. "Every time you see him, he's got a mask."
On Capitol Hill, Republicans insisted that the presidential health crisis would have little impact on the effort to hold confirmation hearings before the election for conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., tweeted that he and Trump spoke by phone Friday and "talked business _ especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett. Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve."
Hours earlier, McConnell sounded more circumspect in a radio interview, calling the virus "the biggest enemy" to a swift confirmation process. Confirmation hearings are scheduled to start Oct. 12, but McConnell said it may be conducted, at least in part, remotely.
But Democrats seized on the fact that Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a member of the Judiciary Committee, also tested positive for coronavirus Friday, days after he met in his office with Barrett, who was diagnosed with the virus earlier this year but recovered.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called for delaying the confirmation hearings.
"We can't move forward on Amy Coney Barrett or anything else until we know whether there was some super-spreader event at the White House or at that debate, which has resulted in perhaps more Senate staff and members than Mike Lee contracting this disease," he said on MSNBC.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is third in the line of succession to the presidency, said she received the news of Trump positive diagnosis "with great sadness." She said she was tested "out of an abundance of caution" and her results were negative.
"Maybe now that people who see the president of the United States with all the protection that he has and the first lady still having this exposure, it might be, as you say, a learning experience," she said on MSNBC. "But more than learning it has to be something that is acted upon."
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who last met with Trump on Sunday and is traveling overseas, was awaiting coronavirus test results Friday. Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tested negative, according to a Pentagon spokesman.
The spokesman said that the appearance of two E-6B Mercury aircraft, which can serve as airborne command posts in emergencies, on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts just before Trump's announcement shortly after midnight were on "preplanned missions" and the timing was "purely coincidental."
"There's been no change to (Defense Department) alert levels," said Jonathan Hoffman, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs. "The U.S. military stands ready to defend our country and interests. "There's no change to the readiness or capability of our armed forces. Our national command and control structure is in no way affected by this announcement."
Pence's office said Pence has been tested for COVID-19 every day for months. But the office did not immediately respond to questions about when he was last in contact with Trump, who announced his positive test results shortly after midnight Friday morning.
During rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, however, Pence told the crowd he had met with the president in the Oval Office earlier that day.
Pence is scheduled to participate in a debate Wednesday in Utah with Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. The event may carry greater importance for voters given the concerns about the Trump's health.
Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said Trump's diagnosis will create a challenge for tracing his contacts because of the virus's incubation period, which can last days before it is detected.
"Anyone near Ms. Hicks from Monday on, President from Tuesday on should quarantine," he tweeted. "I'd go back, test everyone near President from at least Saturday on to see if we can identify source."
