On Saturday, Trump and Brazilian President Bolsonaro met at Mar-A-Lago. Yesterday, following reports that his communications aid, who was also present, has tested positive, Bolsonaro agreed to get a test. The result, according to the Bralizian newspaper O Dia:
Primeiro exame de Bolsonaro teria testado positivo para coronavírus
You don’t need to understand Portuguese (I don’t) to figure out what it says: Bolsonaro is positive for COVID-19. Here is the story from Business Insider:
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, O Dia, a major Brazilian newspaper, reported on Friday.
And Trump’s refusal to face reality on the coronavirus is now personal:
However, the White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham released a statement on Thursday saying Trump and Vice President Mike Pence do not need to be tested for the novel coronavirus because they had very little interaction with Wajngarten.
Even if true (and it doesn’t take much interaction, so far as we know — and what DO we really know?), Trump did have close “interaction” with Bolsonaro.
I wish Trump a long an healthy life behind bars, but there would be some kind of poetic justice in this if he does come down with COVID-19. But he’ll first try to hide it from the public, and then insist it was just the flu. Riiiiight.
Friday, Mar 13, 2020 · 5:20:28 PM +00:00 · Dan K
O Dia now says Bolsonaro tested negative:
Bolsonaro diz que seu teste para coronavírus deu negativo
Interesting that the headline reads “Bolsonaro says. . . .” like the paper wasn’t quite sure. WaPo says Bolsonaro posted the negative claim on Facebook.
As I said, I don’t know Portuguese, but between Spanish and French I picked out the probable meaning of this paragraph:
Mais cedo, a coluna Esplanada publicou que o primeiro exame do presidente teria dado positivo para o coronavírus. No entanto, após a realização da contraprova, de acordo com Bolsonaro, o resultado deu negativo. O exame foi feito pelo Hospital das Forças Armadas e pelo Laboratório Sabin.
as meaning that the first test was positive, but then there was some kind of “counter-proof” and he tested negative. Portuguese speakers are invited to check this. Please.
Given Bolsonaro is kind of the Brazilian equivalent of Trump (what is it with this planet?), I suspect the first report was accurate and leaked out before it could be suppressed. Submitted for your consideration.
More from WaPo:
In the hours before Bolsonaro reported that he didn’t have coronavirus, numerous media outlets in Europe, the United States and Brazil published reports that the initial results of his coronavirus tests had been positive, citing Brazilian officials or even the president’s son, Eduardo.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, however, is now condemning what he describes as fake news.
“THE PRESS LIES TO DESTROY THE NEW BRAZIL,” the president’s son tweeted after Bolsonaro announced his test results.
Critics of Bolsonaro, however, perceived something more malevolent in the contours of a very uncertain day.
“Bolsonaro won a campaign of disinformation today,” tweeted political scientist Alberto C. Almeida. “The objective is to discredit the media.”