The president and the vice president have been exposed to the Wuhan virus after meeting with Fabio Wajngarten, press secretary for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, at Mara-a-Lago on March 7. Wajngarten has since tested positive for coronavirus.
In one photograph, President Trump and Wajgarten were seen shaking hands. Bolsonaro was also at the meeting and is being closely monitored.
President Trump says he’s not worried. “We sat next to each other for a period of time, had a great conversation. He’s doing a terrific job in Brazil and we’ll find out what happened. I guess he’s being tested right now,” Trump said, but “I’m not concerned.” Trump has not been tested for the virus.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that Pence would not be tested but assured that officials “are monitoring the situation closely.”
“Both the president and vice president had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive and do not require being tested at this time,” Grisham said. “To reiterate CDC guidelines, there is currently no indication to test patients without symptoms, and only people with prolonged close exposure to confirmed positive cases should self-quarantine.”
#TrumpAndPence is trending on Twitter.
The man on the right is now confirmed to have the coronvirus. Here he is with Trump and Pence 5 days ago. They also ate together. Trump and Pence should now be in 14-day quarantine (bet they aren't, though). https://t.co/bR9jV104MA
— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) March 12, 2020
"We're going to have a good time tonight, everybody."
Earlier, President Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had dinner together at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/c9QCGpxPKV
— The Hill (@thehill) March 8, 2020
And it didn’t take long to find people fantasizing about a Pelosi presidency.
OK this is admittedly still speculation, but it should be planned for.
If Trump and Pence both become incapacitated with coronavirus, will they allow Pelosi to assume the office of the president? Would the Senate allow her to appoint a vice president?https://t.co/m066Eew1Bq
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) March 12, 2020
Megan Fox is the author of “Believe Evidence; The Death of Due Process from Salome to #MeToo,” and host of The Fringe podcast. Follow on Twitter @MeganFoxWriter
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