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Kayleigh McEnany, 2 More White House Staffers Test Positive For COVID-19

October 5, 2020
Tyler Durden

Kayleigh McEnany, 2 More White House Staffers Test Positive For COVID-19

Tyler Durden

Mon, 10/05/2020 – 12:46

Update (1334ET): As the White House press corp unloads on McEnany, the Federalists’ Mollie Hemmingway has some questions.

Meanwhile, the press corp is hard at work casting doubt over McEnany’s version of events in her written statement.

This would suggest that she was aware of Hope Hicks’ positive test before it was publicly revealed.

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Update (1235ET): Two more White House aides, Karoline Levitt and Chad Gilmartin, have tested positive, according to press reports. Both apparently worked in the comms shop with McEnany.

One former Trump advisor identified Gilmartin as a cousin of McEnany’s husband, professional baseball player Sean Gilmartin.

Unconfirmed media reports claimed that both junior staffers tested positive some time over the weekend, which would mean their cases were confirmed before McEnany tested positive.

If accurate, that would mean 29 people have now been sickened in the White House outbreak, though whispers of other more junior aides testing positive have also been circulating.

Meanwhile, the Washington press corp is reporting “longer than usual” lines at the capital district’s COVID-19 testing sites.

Fortunately, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin has tested negative again on Monday (markets probably wouldn’t take a positive test very well). But as the White House is on the cusp of its 30th confirmed infection, reporters are pushing for a briefing from Dr. Birx.

* * *

Update (1205ET): Calls are growing for VP Mike Pence to skip Wednesday’s VP debate given the rash of infections tied to the WHite House and last Saturday’s press event.

We highly doubt Pence will back down.

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Update (1150ET): Just as we expected, Maggie Haberman, the NYT’s White House correspondent and one of the most famous political reporters in the country, is leading the attack on McEnany, which explains the defensive tone of her statement.

Haberman essentially accused McEnany of lying about not having any contacts with the White House press corp, or anybody else.

We doubt she’ll be the last.

* * *

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has become the latest individual to become infected in the White House outbreak. She tested positive Monday morning.

She released a statement disclosing the diagnosis just minutes ago, where she clarified that she had no prior knowledge of Hope Hicks’ diagnosis, and claimed she had no close contacts with members of the press corp or her colleagues in the West Wing.

She claims to be asymptomatic, and tested positive Monday after negative tests over the weekend and throughout last week.

Get ready for the White House press corp to switch from screeching about Trump’s driveby photo op with supporters outside Walter Reed, to sanctimoniously whining about the White House trying to ‘manslaughter’ them via COVID-19 exposure.

McEnany is at least the 27th person infected in the growing White House outbreak, and the ninth individual (according to CNBC’s David Faber) to test positive who attended Trump’s press briefing for Amy Conney Barrett late last month.

1+2. President & Melania Trump

3. Bill Stepien, Trump campaign mgr

4. Hope Hicks

5. Kellyanne Conway

6. Sen. Ron Johnson

7. Sen. Mike Lee

8. Sen. Thom Tillis

9. Ronna McDaniel

10. Notre Dame Pres. Jenkins

11-13. Three WH reporters

14-24. Eleven staffers from Cleveland debate

25. Chris Christie

26. Nick Luna

27. Kayleigh McEnany