Saturday, October 03, 2020

The White House Black Hole

 Early Saturday, former Gov. Chris Christie announced he had tested positive.  Christie had been part of Trump's debate prep.  Another US Senator tested positive, and the significance of this was that he was not at the SC nominee event but met with an infected colleague later.  

Then Saturday night word came (from Bloomberg News and NYT Maggie Haberman) that Nick Luna, Trump's White House "body man" tested positive.  This is significant because it is highly likely that he was infected by Trump.  Not every infected person infects others. 

 Luna is also married to a senior advisor to Jared Kushner.  Which brings up another point--the ripple effect on the families of infected Trump insiders.  Or even family members who were present at events, such as the children of the SC nominee, present at the White House last weekend.  Since the public has learned of many of the reported positives only after the information leaked, we really don't know if family members have been infected. 

Meanwhile, official information on Trump's condition remains vague.  Saturday morning included the strange spectre of Trump's doctor providing a sunny assessment, and the WH chief of staff immediately afterwards cautioning reporters that Trump's condition was worse than reported on Friday--a situation, if expected to occur at all, would be expected to be reversed, with the doctor being frank and the political staffer offering a more optimistic view.

Gabriel Sherman at Vanity Fair reported that sources told him Trump's condition was alarming on Friday, when his temperature spiked and his oxygen levels dropped.  Two sources said Trump had heart palpitations during the night.  Saturday Trump appeared well enough to make a short video from his hospital office but acknowledged that doctors warned his condition could change, over the next few days and even weeks.

The White House itself has been a black hole of information, even to White House staffers and in particular to the non political White House staff, the people who keep the place running, often for multiple administrations.

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