Sean Conley, White House doctor, held one heck of a press conference Saturday morning. Surrounded by a gaggle of masked doctors and nurses, perfectly placed in front of Walter Reed Medical Center, Dr. Conley spoke from written remarks, and named the medical professionals behind him, even letting two of them speak. He then fielded questions, carefully dodging certain ones. 

It was a brief event, and left reporters and Americans confused by two big things: Dr.

Donald Trump was flown to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday evening. At the time, he was apparently suffering from coughing, fever, lethargy, and some difficulty in breathing. The decision to send him to the hospital at that point appears to have been made not just out of an abundance of caution, but because, as The Washington Post reports, with Trump’s condition worsening, they wanted to move while Trump was “still able to walk to Marine One on his own.

Over the course of 24 hours, the central pillar of Donald Trump’s campaign strategy came crashing down. At almost any cost, Trump had diligently worked to suspend reality, put the coronavirus in the rearview mirror, and train the country’s attention on Joe Biden’s supposedly weak constitution and frailty. But what Trump never counted on was the possibility that he himself might pay the price for his studied ignorance.

Though early concerns about the availability of protective gear for hospital workers caused medical advisers to caution against ordinary people buying up the few available masks, by late March the CDC had already informed the White House that routine wearing of masks by everyone was necessary to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. At his very next public appearance, Donald Trump talked about masks … and immediately said that he was not going to wear one.

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Over the past week, as he was apparently infected by and developed symptoms of COVID-19, Donald Trump has been unmasked and in close quarters with many important people and people wealthy enough to attend his fundraisers. We have lists of those people. But they’re not the only people his reckless behavior may have endangered.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, have tested negative for COVID-19, his campaign announced Friday. The Bidens had the PCR test, which can detect the presence of an antigen, meaning it can be effective earlier than antibody tests.

When White House adviser Hope Hicks received positive COVID-19 test results on Thursday, Donald Trump’s team tried to cover up those results and keep them “private.” But once the news leaked out, Trump was forced to admit that he also had tested positive. Since then, there has been an anxious scramble to test everyone who has been in contact with the Trump team over the past week.