Wednesday on his show “The Lead,” CNN’s Jake Tapper reacted to the breaking news statement from first lady Melania Trump that her son Barron tested positive, “exhibited no symptoms,” and has now tested negative for coronavirus.
White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins said, “We just got breaking news from the first lady who just posted a lengthy statement on her Twitter account announcing that Barron Trump actually had tested positive for coronavirus when she did and of course President Trump did. She says he has since tested negative, but in this lengthy statement, she is talking about what it was like for all three of them to go through COVID-19 at the same time.”
Tapper said, “Well, that is great news that Barron is no longer positive and that he survived this. Barron’s father should stop hosting super spreader events. Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much for that news. CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me now. Sanjay, let’s start with this announcement Barren Trump tested positive for coronavirus. Thankfully he has since tested negative. What do you make of this?”
Gupta said, “Well, this is, obviously, a very contagious virus. We have known that for months now. I think it raises a question, I think, Jake, if you are, regardless of whether you’re the president or first lady, if you’re testing positive and spending time with your family, what is the likelihood you’ll express this virus to them? It turns out it’s not that high. Some studies have said 60% of the time. You don’t spread the virus to other family members. I think the case that they make is that it’s typically, as you point out, it’s when you bring people closely clustered together, sitting for long durations of time, that is when you can potentially have these super-spreader events. It’s not to say you shouldn’t isolate within your own home as much as possible. But what we are learning about this virus is it’s contagious put lots of people together, you’re putting a lot of viruses in the air, and it’s more likely to spread. Not surprising, he got it. Glad he is doing well. He is 14, I believe. So statistics, odds very much on his side for having a good recovery.”
Tapper said, “Yeah. The first lady says, quote, ‘luckily, he is a stronger teenage and exhibited no symptoms.’ That is good news. Let’s talk about these super-spreader events that his father, the president, continues to hold. Take a look at these images from Johnston, Pennsylvania, last night. This week Trump has traveled to Florida, Pennsylvania, tonight he goes to Iowa, later in the week North Carolina, Wisconsin. He is not contagious anymore, his doctor says but these events in the states that are all seeing rise case numbers, some of them rising hospitalizations, high percentage of the virus, it’s dangerous. Is there any to safely hold these rallies?”
Gupta said, “No. It’s a simple answer. A lot of people are saying, well, the president, because he’s had this, he shouldn’t have been holding the rallies even before we were told he wasn’t contagious any more. That is true. This is not normal, Jake, to hold rallies like this in the middle of a pandemic.”
Tapper said, “We said that during the protests. We said that people should not be congregating together. We did see a lot of masks at those rallies, but even that wasn’t enough. But that is not even the point, this is the president of the United States who has sworn an oath to protect and defend the American people, and his behavior is putting his own supporters and the American people who live in those communities at risk.”
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