Donald and Melania Trump Both Test Positive For COVID-19

washington, dc july 04 president donald trump and first lady melania trump participate in an event on the south lawn of the white house on july 04, 2020 in washington, dc president trump is hosting a salute to america celebration that includes flyovers by military aircraft and a large fireworks display photo by tasos katopodisgetty images

(Image credit: Getty Images / Win McNamee)

last updated 23 September 2021

Donald Trump and his wife Melania (opens in new tab) have both tested positive for COVID-19.
The president confirmed they had contracted the virus on Twitter early Friday morning.
They were tested after presidential aide Hope Hicks became symptomatic while traveling with Trump and his entourage to rallies around the country.

Both Donald Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for COVID-19, the president announced on Twitter early Friday morning. "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!" Trump tweeted. Melania Trump subsequently tweeted that she and her husband were "feeling good," adding, "I have postponed all upcoming engagements."

The president and first lady were tested after close aide Hope Hicks became symptomatic while traveling with Trump and his entourage to rallies around the country, the Guardian reports (opens in new tab). According (opens in new tab) to the Washington Post, Trump still flew with his entourage to a fundraiser at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey on Thursday—after White House officials became aware that Hicks was displaying symptoms. The president did not wear a mask on the plane or during the event, and was in "close contact with dozens of other people" during a roundtable. On Thursday evening, Trump announced on Twitter that he and his wife were self-isolating while awaiting their test results after Hicks tested positive.

Trump has repeatedly downplayed the severity of the pandemic, while a Cornell study released earlier this week named him the largest driver of COVID-19 misinformation, as the New York Times reports (opens in new tab). At the Al Smith dinner held hours before he tested positive, the president declared in pre-recorded remarks, "The end of the pandemic is in sight," according (opens in new tab) to CNN. Previously, he's claimed the virus would "disappear," and that the U.S. is "rounding the corner" on the pandemic, as CNN reports, claims emphatically refuted by health experts.

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.