The footage of the Republican elite gathering in the Rose Garden a week ago has the aura of a last supper, with the likes of Kellyanne Conway and Chris Christie, among others, now having tested positive for the coronavirus.
They were maskless and hardly practicing social distancing. As more of them fall ill, they probably regret being there, but of course it is too late now.
All of us witnessing these developments are left to wonder what else the year 2020 may have to offer us.
Since the news broke late Thursday night in the Pacific timezone that Trump had tested positive for the virus, the news cycles have sped up to warp speed.
Contradictory reports continue to extend a confusing picture of the president's health. Into that vacuum, many are speculating. In the context, I'm sticking to what seems credible as reported by the most reliable media sources.
***
Speaking of cycles:
* Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he checked himself into a hospital Saturday afternoon as a precautionary measure after announcing earlier in the day that he had tested positive for Covid-19.Christie, who suffers from asthma, said in consultation with his doctor he decided it was best to be monitored in the hospital. He said he has a slight fever and is achy but felt well enough to drive himself to the hospital. (CNN)
* A senior administration official told CNN's Jake Tapper on Saturday that the cluster of coronavirus cases among top Republican officials likely began at President Trump's Rose Garden event announcing the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. (CNN)
* White House chief of staff Mark Meadows offered an upbeat assessment of Donald Trump's current status but revealed the President's oxygen level had “dropped rapidly” Friday morning.Meadows said Trump has no fever right now and his oxygen levels are good, but on Friday morning, Trump did have a fever and his oxygen level had “dropped rapidly.” (Fox News)
* Secret Service agents expressed their anger and frustration to colleagues and friends Friday, saying that the president's actions have repeatedly put them at risk. "He's never cared about us," one agent told a confidant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the internal reaction. Former Secret Service agents said it was unheard of for agents to openly complain about their president but that some currently in the ranks had become convinced during the pandemic that Trump was willing to put his protectors in harm's way. (SFGate)
* ABC News staffers who were in direct contact with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will quarantine for 14 days, a spokesperson for the network said in a statement Saturday after Christie announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus. (ABC)
* Poll Finds Voters in Two Crucial States Repelled by Trump’s Debate Behavior -- Biden is ahead by seven points in Pennsylvania and five points in Florida, according to the Times/Siena survey. (NYT)
* One of the White House aides who works closest to President Trump has tested positive for coronavirus, a White House official confirmed. Nicholas Luna, an assistant to the President, acts as one of his "body men," whose job is to accompany the President throughout the day and night, putting him in close proximity to Trump. (CNN)
* A century ago, a new respiratory virus gripped the country at the height of World War I. It started among American troops and exploded into a flu pandemic that killed 675,000 people in the U.S. Like the coronavirus, the fast-spreading 1918 flu disrupted life in unprecedented ways. It overwhelmed health care systems, cleared public spaces, and shuttered workplaces and social events. Like President Trump, President Woodrow Wilson's administration downplayed the pandemic. And like Trump, Wilson also got infected. So did some of his closest aides and staff members. (CNN)
***
Heartaches by the number, troubles by the score
Everyday you love me less, each day I love you more
Yes, I've got heartaches by the number, a love that I can't win
But the day that I stop counting, that's the day my world will end
Heartache number one was when you left me
I never knew that I could hurt this way
And heartache number two was when you came back again
You came back but never meant to stay
Yes, I've got
Heartaches by the number, troubles by the score
Everyday you love me less, each day I love you more
Yes, I've got heartaches by the number, a love that I can't win
But the day that I stop counting, that's the day my world will end
Heartache number three was when you called me
And said that you were coming back to stay
With hopeful heart I waited for your knock on the door
I waited but you must have lost your way
Yes, I've got
Heartaches by the number, troubles by the score
Everyday you love me less, each day I love you more
Yes, I've got heartaches by the number, a love that I can't win
But the day that I stop counting, that's the day my world will end
-- Guy Mitchell
-30-
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