October 4 Trump Covid-19 news

By Ben Westcott, Brett McKeehan, Adam Renton, Amy Woodyatt, Fernando Alfonso III, Melissa Macaya and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 1:15 p.m. ET, October 5, 2020

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12:47 p.m. ET, October 4, 2020

Trump had 2 episodes of "transient drops in his oxygen saturation," his physician says

Dr. Sean Conley, physician to President Donald Trump, briefs reporters at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on October 4. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

President Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said he is continuing "to improve" but, as with any illness, "there are frequent ups and downs," he said a news briefing from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

"Over the course of his illness, the President has experienced two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation. We debated the reasons for this, and whether we'd even intervene. It was a determination of the team based on the timeline from the initial diagnosis that we initiate dexamethasone," Conley said.

Dexamethasone is a widely available steroid drug.

Conley said the President was given supplemental oxygen and his current blood oxygen level is 98%.

Conley refused to say how low the President's blood oxygen levels had dropped. When asked if they had dropped below 90, he replied, "We don't have any recordings here of that."

When asked again on whether they had dropped below 90, Conley said the President's blood oxygen levels didn't get down into "the low 80s."

Watch Dr. Conley:

11:29 a.m. ET, October 4, 2020

President Trump to receive national security briefing later today

From CNN's Sam Fossum and Boris Sanchez

National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said that he, along with Gen. Mark Milley and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, will brief the President later this afternoon, adding that he spoke to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows earlier this morning.

"I spoke to the chief of staff before coming to the White House this morning and he said the President is doing very well and not surprisingly wants to come back home," O'Brien told reporters shortly after an interview on CBS. "He's been watching TV, he's been working and he wants to get back to doing the business of the American people. I'll be briefing him this afternoon along with General Milley and Secretary Pompeo. We're scheduled to give him a foreign policy and national security brief. We'll be here at the White House — he'll be at Walter Reed in a secure facility."

O'Brien, who contracted coronavirus earlier this year, said that his last conversation with Trump was on Friday while O'Brien was in Geneva and speaking with his counterparts in the Russian government. He stressed that Trump "is firmly in control."

O'Brien also thanked the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris for their words

"I appreciate the fact that Vice President Biden came out with and said that he and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, were praying for the president and First Lady," he said on CBS.

11:13 a.m. ET, October 4, 2020

A briefing on the President’s treatment is expected shortly

A medical briefing on President Trump's treatment at Walter Reed medical center is expected shortly.

Trump has been at the medical center since Friday to be treated for Covid-19.

White House reporters have been told to expect the medical briefing around 11:30 a.m. ET.

11:02 a.m. ET, October 4, 2020

Biden campaign sends well wishes to President

From CNN’s Sarah Mucha

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign underscored their well wishes to the President and first lady this morning.

Symone Sanders told CNN that the Biden campaign has not heard from the Trump campaign or the White House since the President’s diagnosis but added that they do not believe Biden was exposed.

“We extend our thoughts and prayers to President Trump and the first lady. We are sincerely hoping that the President makes a very quick recovery and we can see him on the campaign trial soon,” she said. “No, we haven't heard to my knowledge from the Trump campaign or the White House, but the reality is that Vice President Biden was not exposed.”

Sanders reiterated that the campaign has followed protocol throughout the pandemic, including wearing masks.

"We are adhering to CDC guidance, we are listening to the public health experts and we are taking every single precaution. Our staff are wearing masks and are social distancing everywhere — on planes, in cars, inside events, outside events," Sanders said. "We're wearing the masks that are keeping us safe."

Responding to the Trump campaign accusing Biden of using masks as a "prop," deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told ABC, "I think that tells you a lot of what you need to know about how the Trump campaign has treated this from the outset. Joe Biden believes that the words of a president matter, that the actions of a president matter. From the outset, he has taken this seriously.”

10:33 a.m. ET, October 4, 2020

GOP leader says he could tell the President "wasn't feeling well" when he spoke to him Friday

From CNN's Nicky Robertson

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke to President Trump Friday night while the President was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“He called me Friday night after he got into the hospital, it was late around 10:30 or so, you could tell he wasn’t feeling well,” McCarthy said in an interview on Fox.

McCarthy said the President was working, and they discussed the coronavirus stimulus relief bill, which remains at an impasse on Capitol Hill

“He was still doing work, we were talking about how we could get the speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop playing politics and actually get a COVID relief bill,” the Minority Leader noted.

McCarthy added that Trump was “worried about others who had COVID.”

10:18 a.m. ET, October 4, 2020

Trump campaign adviser couldn't explain why Trump went to fundraiser after Hicks tested positive

From CNN’s Daniella Diaz

Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller couldn't explain why President Trump went to Bedminster for a fundraiser Thursday after learning Hope Hicks, one of the President's aides, had tested positive for coronavirus.

After being asked for an explanation, Miller said on ABC, "I can't speak to — since I'm not part of White House operations, I'm not part of the White House medical unit — is the exact, how much time he was spending with Hope and the proximity for these things. I can't speak to that. I’m going to let the White House do that."

Miller also claimed that Trump's campaign rallies took precautions for coronavirus, adding he believed former Vice President Joe Biden used face masks as a "prop."

"We take it seriously. It's why we give everyone coming to rallies or events, we give them a mask. We check their temperature. You know, I would say that with regard to Joe Biden, I think too often he's used the mask as a prop. Mask is very important, but even if he's — he could be 20, 30 feet away from the nearest person and still have the mask on. That's not going to change anything that's out there. Also we've seen with — with Joe Biden, I mean, we can't all just stay in our basement for the rest of our lives," Miller said.

10:23 a.m. ET, October 4, 2020

Ohio governor says the White House did not contact him about possible Covid-19 exposure

From CNN's Chandelis Duster

Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine said Sunday that he has not been contacted by the White House about potential Covid-19 exposure in his state after President Trump tested positive for the virus days after his Cleveland debate.

"Well, they have not reached out to me. I know that I talked to the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic the other day who gave me an update, who gave me a report so I don't know whether they have reached out to Cleveland Clinic or not. They have not talked to me about it, no," the Republican governor told CNN.

The President participated in the first presidential debate against Democrat Joe Biden in Cleveland last week. DeWine said that he didn't attend the debate, but conceded that he wished the President wore a mask more often.

"Do I wish — look do I wish the President had worn a mask all the time? Of course. You know, of course," he said.

WATCH:

9:43 a.m. ET, October 4, 2020

Senate GOP's third positive Covid-19 case threatens quick Supreme Court confirmation

From CNN's Manu Raju

Sen. Ron Johnson speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill on August 6. Toni Sandys/Pool/Getty Images

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has tested positive for coronavirus after being exposed to someone with the virus earlier this week, according to his spokesman, making him the third GOP senator to test positive in 24 hours and threatening the quick confirmation prospects of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

In a sign of just how little margin for error there is to get Barrett confirmed by election day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote in an email to GOP senators obtained by CNN that he needs all Republican senators back in Washington by Oct. 19.

Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sit on the Judiciary Committee, tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday — just days after attending a White House event where President Trump nominated Barrett.

Multiple attendees of that event, including Trump, have tested positive in the week since the ceremony, which featured many people not wearing masks and not observing social distancing protocols.

Johnson did not attend the Barrett nomination ceremony, where several people appeared to have been exposed to the virus, because he was quarantining from a prior exposure, during which he twice tested negative for the virus, according to the spokesman.

Johnson was able to get tested before speaking to the Ozaukee County Republican Party Oktoberfest Dinner on Friday night in Wisconsin, he said on a call with reporters Saturday. The senator, who said he had decided to get tested as a precaution after hearing that Lee had tested positive earlier on Friday, learned he had tested positive after the event on his ride home.

8:12 a.m. ET, October 4, 2020

Trump is up and tweeting thanks to supporters

From CNN's Sam Fossum

In his first tweet Sunday morning, President Trump retweeted a video of people gathered outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and thanked them for their support.

“Thank you so much!,” the President wrote on Sunday.

Read the tweet: