Trump cabinet member Ben Carson tests positive for COVID-19 after attending White House party

Daily Kos Staff

Monday November 09, 2020 · 9:05 AM PST

2020/11/09 · 09:05

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 21: U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson speaks during a briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on March 21, 2020 in Washington, DC. With deaths caused by the coronavirus rising and foreseeable economic turmoil, the Senate is working on legislation for a $1 trillion aid package to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. President Trump announced thatÂ tax day will be delayed from April 15 to July 15. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Donald Trump and some of his more frothy allies repeatedly suggested that the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic would simply "go away" after Election Day came and went. Didn't happen. Now, the White House itself seems to be the source of another superspreader event, this one centered around Trump's election night party inside the building.

Health and Human Services Secretary Ben Carson is now the latest of Trump's top lieutenants to test positive for the virus. Carson, who is somewhat ominously described to be in "good spirits," attended Trump's Election Eve Infectathon last Tuesday.

On Friday, Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was disclosed to have tested positive, though "pains were taken" to keep it a secret. Four other unnamed White House aides also tested positive.

COVID-19 cases in the United States are once again surging, spurred as expected by cold weather forcing Americans indoors and by a gleeful contempt for masks and social distancing by a sizable portion of the population. The news of a promising vaccine provides hope, but it will take months to produce any significant quantity of a vaccine. In the meantime, holding indoor parties continues to be an extremely bad idea even if (especially if?) you are yourself a member of the "White House coronavirus task force"—as Ben Carson is.

Trump cabinet member Ben Carson tests positive for COVID-19 after attending White House party

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