“If he’s sick, then they planted it when they tested him. It’s what they did to me when I went to hospital for my heart beating too fast. Two weeks later I got a cold. It’s political. I don’t trust the US government at all. Who are they to mandate personal safety? I listen to Trump.”
—Trump supporter Sean Patterson, in St. Joseph, Missouri. [Well, that certainly rates a roll of the eyes and “OMG” uttered under one’s breath – while slowly backing away.]
“When I first heard, I did wonder if he made it up to get out of the next debate or win sympathy. Before it would have been impossible to think a president would make up getting ill but now anything seems possible. He probably didn’t but I’m not completely sure.”
—Trump supporter Amy Grant, in St. Joseph.
“[E]veryone who hitched themselves to the president’s dishonest messaging about the virus is being confronted with the reality that the president himself is sick.”
—Irwin Redlener, director of Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness.
“This is a reminder that covid-19 is an ongoing threat to our country and can happen to anyone. Learning more about when President Trump and others with whom he had contact last tested negative and first tested positive will help understand this outbreak and limit the risk of further spread.”
—Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Obama administration.
“Wear the damn mask. “Follow the science. If I could say one thing to all of the people out there watching: Forget the politics. This is a public safety health issue.”
—Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, who moderated last Tuesday’s debate between Trump and Joe Biden, while awaiting his own coronavirus test results.
Louisiana Voice 
If we did not live in the post-truth world our POTUS, Covid45, helped create, we might have a clue as to what is going on here. Unfortunately, we don’t and won’t unless there is an unambiguous outcome. The current policy of the White House (but, not just the White House) is: 1. Lie, even if the truth would better serve. 2. If/when caught, lie again. 3. Repeat. How are we supposed to keep up with anything? My most trusted source of news is NPR, but in cases like this even they can only report what they are able to find out and getting the facts (when the concept of “alternate facts” exists) can be impossible.
And now we’re being bombarded with news about it constantly, minute by minute. None of which I care about unless there is a major change that happens. How about an update once a day about nine o’clock in the morning. Take his cell phone away. Take away his TV. Let the man rest. If he is gasping for breath he needs his oxygen. Give him room to breathe. Play songs for him. Like James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s World.” Give him the things he needs to recover. Tell him the polls show he is ahead of Biden. Lie to him about how well he is doing. Make him feel good. Put him in a good narcissistic mood. He will recover in no time.
Tom: Your first quote (Sean) scares the heck out of me. Your second quote (Amy) gives me hope. The clear and present danger here is that Americans cannot trust anything that this White House gives as news. History may show us the depth of deceit that Trump has demanded and cultivated in the highest office our democracy allows….but, for now, we can only imagine that Trump’s White House lies about everything all of the time and no one will be surprised at the length Trump and his Republicans in Congress will go to for their own agendas. Beware and vote!