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Timeline of Trump’s activities leading up to coronavirus diagnosis

With just a month to go until the election, the president had a busy schedule during the week the coronavirus hit home with him.

President Donald Trump held up his face mask during the first presidential debate Tuesday at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic.
President Donald Trump held up his face mask during the first presidential debate Tuesday at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic.Read moreJulio Cortez / AP
    by Associated Press, The Associated Press
    Updated 
    Published 

WASHINGTON — With just a month to go until the election, President Donald Trump had a busy schedule in the week before the coronavirus hit home with him. Trump tweeted early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. Typically, it can take four to five days for symptoms to show up after someone is infected with coronavirus. The incubation period can extend up to 14 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Saturday

  1. Trump announces the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Four people who attended the Rose Garden ceremony — Sens. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, University of Notre Dame president John Jenkins and former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway — announce Friday they have tested positive for the virus.

  2. Trump holds a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pa., attended by thousands of supporters, many not wearing masks.

Sunday

  1. Trump visits his golf course in Sterling Va, and holds a late afternoon news conference in the White House briefing room.

  2. The president and his wife hold an early evening reception for Gold Star Families on the White House State floor.

Monday

  1. Trump surveys a truck produced by Lordstown Motors on the White House South Lawn at an event attended by two members of Congress and three representatives from the Lordstown, Ohio, manufacturer.

  2. Trump holds a Rose Garden event to announce an administration effort to distribute millions of coronavirus test kits to states. The event is attended by administration officials including Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress and state officials.

Tuesday

  1. Trump travels to Cleveland for a 90-minute presidential debate against Democratic rival Joe Biden. The two men are both tested ahead of the debate and stand behind lecterns positioned a good distance from one another. They do not wear masks during the faceoff, but also do not shake hands under pre-arranged rules.

  2. White House aide Hope Hicks is part of a large entourage that travels to Ohio with Trump aboard Air Force One for the debate, including members of the Trump family. Trump’s adult children and senior staff do not wear masks during the debate, violating host rules.

Wednesday

  1. Trump travels to Minnesota for a fundraiser at a private home in suburban Minneapolis and an outdoor rally in Duluth.

  2. Hicks is among the White House aides who accompany Trump on the trip. She feels unwell on the return trip and isolates herself aboard Air Force One.

Thursday

  1. Hicks tests positive for the coronavirus.

  2. Trump flies to his Bedminster resort in New Jersey for a private fundraiser. Several aides who were in proximity to Hicks scrap plans to accompany Trump. White House officials say they learned of Hicks' positive test soon after Trump boarded Marine One to start his journey to New Jersey.

  3. Trump announces in an evening interview on Fox News that he and the first lady are being tested for the coronavirus. He later tweets that they will “begin our quarantine process!”

Friday

  1. Trump tweets shortly before 1 a.m. that he and the first lady have tested positive for the virus and “will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately.”

  2. Dr. Sean Conley, physician to the president, releases a statement that the president and first lady “are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.”

  3. White House officials say Trump and his wife are experiencing mild symptoms, and that senior advisers who were in close contact with the president and Hicks have tested negative. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows says that he anticipates more White House staff will test positive.

  4. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien says campaign events involving the president and his family are being moved to virtual events or temporarily postponed. Vice President Mike Pence plans on resuming his scheduled campaign events.

  5. White House staff say Trump is experiencing “fatigue.” Trump flies by Marine One to Walter Reed Medical Center, a military hospital, on the advice of his physicians. White House officials say Trump will remain there for a “few days.”