Update: President Donald Trump and Melania Trump have tested positive. Read the full story here.
President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump have begun a "quarantine process" after a top White House staffer tested positive for COVID-19.
Trump, 74, made the announcement about two hours after it was revealed that Hope Hicks, one of the people closest to the president and a longtime aide of his, tested positive.
Trump told Sean Hannity, a fervent supporter and Fox News personality, around 9:50 p.m. ET that he and his wife had been tested.
"She did test positive. I just heard about this. She did test positive. She's a hard worker. A lot of masks. She wears masks a lot, but she tested positive. And I just went out with a test — because, you know, we spend a lot of time and the first lady just went out with a test also. So whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know," Trump said on the show.
In April, the president indicated he gets test results in about 15 minutes. It's unclear if that's still the case.
"It took me literally a minute to take it. And it took me, I guess it was 14 or 15 minutes. I went to work. I didn’t wait for it, but he said it took 14 minutes, or something, to come up with a conclusion. And it said, 'The president tested negative for COVID-19,'" he said at the time.
The president has a packed schedule on Friday, including a roundtable with his supporters at his Washington, DC, hotel, and then a MAGA rally in Orlando. Those events alone would include about five total trips by road and air, presumably with staff in tow.
It's unclear if he will keep those events on his calendar, or if he will follow the guidelines of his administration's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which require anyone who has been exposed to someone who has tested positive to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!
Trump has played down the coronavirus and has shown complete disregard for science for months, setting an example for countless Americans. He's questioned the severity of the virus, hasn't regularly worn a mask in public — including at his rallies — and has insisted the virus would "disappear."