Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, your daily rundown on all the latest news in the 2020 presidential, Senate and House races. Did someone forward this to you? Click here to subscribe.
We’re Julia Manchester, Max Greenwood and Jonathan Easley. Here’s what we’re watching today on the campaign trail:
LEADING THE DAY:
President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis sent shockwaves across the country’s political landscape Friday, upending the already chaotic fight for power in Washington just 32 days out from Election Day.
The White House says Trump is experiencing “mild symptoms,” though he hasn’t tweeted or been on camera since the diagnosis was announced.
The president is 74 years old and overweight, putting him in a high-risk category for the coronavirus.
White House physician Sean Conley released a statement late Friday saying the president “remains fatigued but in good spirits.” He said Trump received a cocktail of polyclonal antibodies as a precautionary measure and that the infusion was completed “without incident.”
“In addition to the polyclonal antibodies, the President has been taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin,” Conley said.
First lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive this morning, “remains well with only a mild cough and headache,” the White House physician said.
The revelation means he will be off the campaign trail at a time when polls show him trailing Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who is entering the final stretch of the campaign with a consistent polling lead and, for the first time, more money in the bank than Trump.
Trump’s campaign announced Friday afternoon that all campaign events involving the president or his family would either be moved to virtual forums or postponed. Vice President Pence, who tested negative for COVID-19, will continue campaigning while Trump quarantines.
The White House says Trump is experiencing “mild symptoms,” though he hasn’t tweeted or been on camera since the diagnosis was announced.
Officials say Trump is “energetic” and they expect him to make a full recovery. But his positive coronavirus test throws the already-chaotic race for the White House into an unpredictable and uncertain new phase and throws cold water on any plan that the president had to shift the focus of the presidential contest away from a pandemic that has killed more than 208,000 people in the United States.
For Biden’s campaign, it looks like it’ll be business as usual. The former vice president and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) both tested negative for the coronavirus Friday, and Biden moved forward with a scheduled trip to Grand Rapids, Mich., albeit with a compressed itinerary.
But questions remain about what the coming weeks will look like. Wednesday’s debate between Harris and Pence is scheduled to move forward. The next two presidential debates on Oct. 15 and Oct. 22 are very much up in the air. Both campaigns will also likely have to reevaluate their messages in the coming weeks. Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis will almost certainly quash his argument that the pandemic is nearing an end and Americans should resume their normal lives. Biden, meanwhile, will have to walk a fine line between sympathy for and campaigning against a man whom he has dubbed “the worst president America has ever had.”
It’s not just Trump who has tested positive…
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel also tested positive for COVID-19 this week — as did Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who just days ago met with Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrrett. The Rev. John I. Jenkins, the president of the University of Notre Dame who attended Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination ceremony at the White House last week, also announced Friday that he had tested positive for the virus.
READ MORE:
Trump positive test roils White House, presidential campaigns, by Jonathan Easley, Morgan Chalfant and Brett Samuels.
Biden has no plans to scale back campaign, by Amie Parnes.
Trump’s test sparks fears of spread, by Brett, Morgan and Peter Sullivan.
Trump COVID-19 bombshell upends 2020 race, by Niall Stanage.
SANDERS HEADED TO NEW HAMPSHIRE
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will head to Lebanon, N.H., on Saturday to campaign on behalf of Biden.
Sanders will hold a Vote Now rally on behalf of the Biden campaign. Sanders will discuss ways voters in the state can safely cast their ballots, including voting by mail and in-person.
The development comes after the senator expressed concerns last month that Biden was not doing enough to expand his appeal to progressive voters, and has urged Biden to hone in on issues such as workers’ wages and health care coverage.
SUPREME COURT UPDATE
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says the Senate will move forward with hearings for nominee Amy Coney Barrett, which are scheduled to begin in less than two weeks.
The Hill’s John Kruzel has a rundown of the election disputes that are headed for the high court soon. Among the cases, the justices have agreed to hear a GOP bid to revive voting limits in Arizona, which will be the first election-related fight at the Supreme Court since the passing of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.