A few hours after the White House announced that senior advisor Hope Hicks had tested positive for COVID-19, President Trump tweeted that he and Melania Trump had also tested positive. The president’s physician released a memo that said the president would quarantine at the White House but pointedly did not note whether or not he was suffering any symptoms.
Stock futures tumbled 555 points as the markets digested the news. The president had been in contact with many senior White House staff, who—in turn—had met with congressional leaders and Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. At the same time, there were concerns over the health of Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who shared a stage for more than 90 minutes with the president, at a time when he may have been infectious.