Trump Tests Positive for Covid-19; Signs Executive Orders

Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19; Signs Executive Orders

President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday tested positive for COVID-19 but invoked the HIPPA Act and presidential privilege to prevent his diagnoses from becoming a matter of public record, said a White House source familiar with the president’s heath.

Trumps Covid-19 positive diagnoses came moments before he delivered remarks on vaccine trials to reports at the White House Rose Garden, which he did against the recommendations of his personal physician, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, and Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams. Sources said Trump was asymptomatic; the diagnoses were made during a routine test.

Although told to self-isolate for fourteen days and temporarily transfer power to VP Pence in accordance with the constitutional line of succession, Trump insisted he remain president and said he would not let Covid-19 stop him from performing his presidential responsibilities, including Tweeting. Moreover, Trump said he will not wear a mask “under any circumstances” despite recommendations to the contrary. Doing so, Trump said, would betray American confidence, especially after he spent months downplaying the dangers of Covid-19 and is now encouraging states nationwide to rescind lockdown orders and reopen their economies.

Trump told Surgeon General Adams he intends to resume taking Hydroxychloroquine, a controversial antibiotic the president has touted as a miracle cure and prophylactic for Covid-19. In late April, President Trump turned himself into a human Guinea Pig by taking the medication for two weeks, against the advice of his physicians. Trump later said he had no ill side effects from the treatment. The president often uses Twitter to tout the benefits of Hydroxychloroquine, often without a disclaimer saying he has no medical training whatsoever.

President Trump said he does not feel ill and expects to quickly purge the virus from his “extremely and very, very strong body,” said two White House sources.

“Trump merely shrugged his shoulders and said ‘oh well, I knew I’d get eventually. It’s great getting it now, really great, since I don’t have to worry about catching it later. Covid-19 is really no big deal, not a big deal at all, and I’ve made some big deals. Everyone gets it eventually’ and then lambasted staff questioning his judgement,” our source said.

Further, Trump said he will not self-isolate from his family, claiming that if he has Covid-19, then his family and closest advisors have likely contracted the virus. Strong, healthy, and fit people like himself, Trump allegedly added, have no risk of developing the severe symptoms responsible for killing over 100,000 Americans.

Asked if America should shut down to mitigate a surging second wave of infections, Trump said tales of a second wave are apocryphal created by the “Fake News” media and his political opponents, specifically Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, and presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden.