One heckuva October Surprise The news of first Hicks' diagnosis and then the president and First Lady was a seismic shock in the final weeks of this tumultuous election. It quickly raised public discussions about whether the upcoming debates would be delayed or cancelled, and what might happen if Trump were incapacitated in some way. Carl Bernstein called the situation "a national security crisis." Trump's decision to continue with his schedule Thursday -- including an indoor fundraiser where he was in close maskless contact with a number of people -- is being heavily criticized. Not to mention his comments at the Al Smith dinner that the "end of the pandemic is in sight." Oh yeah, then there's also the Trump family's refusal to wear masks at the debate. Vice President Mike Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris have tested negative. Biden sent well-wishes to Trump Friday. Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent well wishes too but also criticized the "brazen invitation" of the White House's behavior. Here's a full list of other Trump administration and campaign officials and their test results that we know so far. Doctors are popping up on cable news programs to offer advice and predictions, with varying responses. One on Fox News had a very positive outlook. Dr. Oz was more pessimistic about the risk factors for an obese 74 year old. CNN's Sanjay Gupta thinks Trump has a "much greater than 90 percent" chance of full recovery. CNN's Kaitlan Collins pondered if Biden should suspend his campaign in light of this news -- an idea Mediate's Tommy Christopher says the Biden camp should "kill with bleach." Meanwhile, Melania... Right before the political media world blew up with the coronavirus news, the First Lady was getting some buzz from audio recordings that her former assistant secretly made. Among the revelations were Melania's thoughts about those controversial White House Christmas decorations and that infamous "I Don't Care, Do U?" jacket. The buried bombshell Completely drowned out in the insanity of the current news cycle was a report that Kimberly Guilfoyle left Fox News not of her own choice, but after a multimillion dollar settlement with an assistant who alleged that Guilfoyle engaged in some very ugly sexual harassment and mistreatment. Cable news quarrels CNN's Jake Tapper kicked an interrupting guest off his show with a quip at Chris Wallace's expense, indirectly mocking Wallace's struggles to keep the dueling presidential candidates in line at Tuesday's debate. Wallace fired back with some snark on Guy Benson's podcast. Listen here. Mediaite+ Keeping up with the news is more important than ever, and our Mediaite+ subscribers have the inside track.
Joining now gets you an ad-free browsing experience on our website and great exclusive content. Learn more about how to sign up here. Get Well Soon There are a lot of snarky (and even downright vile) comments on social media today in response to the news of the president's coronavirus diagnosis. But the news should serve as a reminder to all Americans that this virus does not discriminate and there is no foolproof way to prevent it at this time. We send our thoughts and prayers to President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Hope Hicks, and all others who are battling this virus today. Our best wishes for a full and quick recovery to everyone. 6.5.0 |