In May the White House announced a new policy that Trump would get a daily COVID test and anyone who was meeting with him would get a test each day.
At a July 21 briefing, press secretary Kayleigh McEneny described Trump as the "most tested man in America" who doesn't risk spreading the virus to others. "He's tested more than anyone, multiple times a day," she said. "And we believe that he's acting appropriately."
If that practice has continued, it seems possible Trump knew he had COVID long before he announced it publicly and could have recklessly and maybe intentionally exposed others for days.
On Tuesday, he arrived too late for the debate to take the required Cleveland Clinic COVID test. Had he arrived in time, Cleveland Clinic would likely have known he was infected. A President could have a busy schedule and he really was doing something other than debate prep prior to arrival. But, it’s also possible he didn’t yet have symptoms and wanted to participate in the debate without anyone knowing he was infected. He then yelled at Joe Biden without wearing masks for more than an hour, spewing aerosols in his direction.
So, let’s look at the math. Symptoms of COVID typically don’t show up until 5 days after exposure. Less commonly, symptoms can show up after 2 days. On Wednesday, some of Trump’s closest aides said they sensed he was feeling poorly but they chalked it up to fatigue from an intense campaign schedule. The president seemed exhausted, one person familiar with the situation said. On Wednesday evening, Trump fell asleep on Air Force One, something he never does. On Thursday, he reported feeling fatigue and mild symptoms. It’s possible he had symptoms prior to Wednesday that haven’t been reported. And on Friday he reported having a low fever, congestion, and a cough. It seems likely he was exposed Monday or earlier.
People are most contagious for 1-2 days prior to having symptoms. The prior Friday Trump met with RNC Chief Ronna McDaniel and hasn’t seen her since. Both have since tested positive for COVID. Might he have been infected prior to that meeting and given it to her? As this New York Times article and graphic shows, each day he met with people who have now tested positive. If he was contagious last Friday, it seems very likely he would have tested positive before Tuesday and yet went to the debate.
How likely is it he didn’t have a positive COVID test until Thursday night? How likely is it he recklessly exposed Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Biden campaign staff who attended the debate, Cleveland Clinic staff, his own staff, people who attended his events, and the people who staffed each event, secret service, reporters, and more?