Good News For People Who Like Terrible People: President Trump Tested Negative For COVID-19

Welp, if you were waiting on news to break that President Donald Trump has come down with “that Rona,” you’ll be disappointed.

According to AP News, the White House released test results Saturday night revealing that the president received negative results for COVID-19 after being tested for coronavirus on Friday.

Yesterday, The Root reported that three people who had visited Trump’s Mar-o-Lago resort for a dinner with members of the Brazilian president’s delegation last weekend, which the president hosted, had tested positive for coronavirus prompting questions about when or if Trump would be tested since he had contact with those who had been exposed, having even shared a table with one of the infected attendees. White House Physician Sean Conley insisted the president was fine.

“One week after having dinner with the Brazilian delegation in Mar-a-Lago, the President remains symptom-free,” said Conley in a memo released on Saturday.

Trump initially seemed reluctant to get himself tested appearing to be putting it off. Reporters, during a news conference on Friday, pressed him on the issue after the news broke about his infected resort guests to which he responded that he would “likely” get tested “very soon” and that he and his people were “working on a schedule,” according to the New York Post.

Conley also initially indicated that it was not necessary for the president to be tested despite his exposure to his guests who tested positive saying in a statement, “This evening we learned of another dinner guest, this one sharing the table with the President and White House delegation, who was symptom-free until this morning and has since tested positive for COVID-19,” Conley said adding that Trump’s exposure to Fabio Wajngarten (one of the infected guests) was “extremely limited (photograph, handshake)” and that while Trump did share a table with the unnamed guest and “spent more time in closer proximity with the second case, all interactions occurred before any symptom onset.”

When a reporter implied that Trump maybe being “selfish” by not getting tested despite other administration officials advising self-isolation after exposure to infected guests, Trump pushed back saying, “I didn’t say I wasn’t going to be tested.”

So now Trump has been tested and, according to Conley, he is, indeed, fine.

“This evening, I received confirmation that the test is negative,” he said adding that he has been in “daily contact” with the Center for Disease Control and White House Coronavirus Task Force and that, “We are encouraging the implementation of all their best practices for exposure reduction and transmission mitigation.”

According to CNBC, Vice President Mike Pence indicated to reporters on Saturday that he would also eventually get tested for the virus.

“I’m going to speak immediately after this press conference with White House physician’s office,” Pence said. “Mrs. Pence and I would be more than happy to be tested.”

Pence has not confirmed any official plans to seek testing.