Testing shortages have been one of the big stories of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, with legitimately sick people unable to get tested. But now that a personal valet to Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19, Trump and Mike Pence will be tested every day.
Trump claimed: “I’ve had very little contact, personal contact, with this gentleman,” in contradiction to reports that the valet served him his meals and brought him Diet Cokes. The military aide was reportedly symptomatic at the time he tested positive. The White House uses the Abbott rapid testing kits, which are fast but less accurate than tests that are sent out to labs and take longer.
In addition to Trump and Pence, White House staff who interact with them will be tested daily. Which means that at least proximity to Trump now carries the discomfort of constant deep nasal swabs.
Trump told reporters that the military aide’s positive test “just shows you the fallacy—what I’ve been saying, testing is not a perfect art.” Except he’s still willing to take its benefits, even as he goes against public health experts by insisting that increased testing isn’t needed for the country as a whole.
On Friday, Trump was scheduled to meet with eight World War II veterans over the highly vulnerable age of 95. He continues to refuse to wear a mask because he doesn’t like how it looks.