Unless you live under a very big rock, you’ve heard that President Trump has tested positive for

Unless you live under a very big rock, you’ve heard that President Trump has tested positive for COVID 19. The first lady, Melania Trump has also tested positive. The President has fatigue, a fever, congestion, a cough, and is now at Walter Reed Hospital getting tests.

I’ve gotten a bunch of questions on Instagram which I’ll answer throughout this video. If you have more questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer them!

Who else in Trump’s orbit tested positive? As of Saturday morning, October 3, Trump, Melania, Campaign Manager Bill Stepien, Advisor Hope Hicks, 1 White House staffer, 3 journalists who work at the White House, GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel, and GOP Senators Mike Lee, Thom Tillis and Ron Johnson, and former advisor Kellyanne Conway have all tested positive.

Where did they all get it? While nothing is certain, it seems there may in fact have been a super spreader event that many of them attended: the ceremony where Trump introduced Amy Coney Barrett, his nominee to the supreme court. It happened last Saturday in the Rose Garden. Few masks were worn and there was essentially no social distancing.

The Trump campaign announced that all events were being postponed or made virtual. Events that involve members of the first family are temporarily postponed and all others will be considered on a case by case basis.

Vice President Pence has tested negative and has resumed campaigning.

What’s the order of succession should Trump not be able to carry out duties?
It goes Vice President Pence, then House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen Chuck Grassley, who is president pro tempore of the senate, Sec of state mike Pompeo, Treasury sec Steve Mnichin.

Who is in charge of the country right now?
It’s still Trump as far as we know. There was actually a West Wing episode about this. For a transfer of power and Pence to take over, Trump would have to declare in writing to Pelosi & Grassley that he is incapacitated. He has not done so yet. If Trump can’t write that letter because he’s too sick, then Pence, along with a majority of Cabinet secretaries, would inform Pelosi and Grassley that Trump cannot serve as president. Pence would then take over, and Trump would be able to resume the presidency once he could declare in writing that he’s capable again.

Is Trump faking it?
There are a lot of conspiracy theorists out there saying they don’t trust Trump and that he’s faking it. Maybe because he doesn’t want to go to the next debate after performing poorly at the first debate.

You’ve got to remember who Trump is. He lives off the energy of these rallies and the TV coverage that comes with them. No one likes a televised event more than Trump. They’re part of how he won in 2016 and he believes that they’re his best chance to drum up attention and support. Now, it’s likely all rallies will be cancelled for the foreseeable future AND he’s off the campaign trail for at least a few days in the hospital. Plus, he can’t attend fundraisers right now to raise money. As for the debate, remember that he’s behind in the polls and the debates are some of the few opportunities left to tell voters why they should stick with him. I believe no debate would further harm his campaign.

Will there even be more debates?
That’s still to be determined and likely will depend on everyone’s health. But the VP debate is still scheduled for next week.

Could Trump gain sympathy and support and his election chances improve?
I think that’s unlikely. Often in times of crisis, people rally around the President. But this will probably be different. Though over 207,000 Americans have died from COVID, Trump has spent months downplaying the virus, making fun of people, especially Biden, for wearing masks, and questioning scientists when they confirmed how easily it can spread. Trump has ignored almost all of that information and masks are still not required. Part of Trump’s message has been that he’s strong and Biden is weak and foolish for being so