hello, bewelcome to all of r viewers here in the united states and all around the world, i am robyn curnow, i want to give you this breaking news coming out of washington. donald trump tweeted he's tested

positive for coronavirus. this comes after hope hicks, she tested positive for the last 24 hours. we'll continue to monitor her progress but it is clearly now, all eyes focus on the president trump tested positive for covid. i want to talk about this news and impact. what kind of risk is he at now. >> this is a stunning announcement tonight and we are all very concerned about having anyone testing positive for covid and particularly the

president of the united states and the first lady of the united states. this shows how important testing, tracing and quaranti quarantining and isolate is. the president does fall into a high risk of category. he's older and some what over weight. i don't know about any other preexisting conditions that he may or may not have. the important thing is he's in an age group that does have and risk for severe covid. so this is very concerning. >> we are showing picture of the key white house team going into marine one.

they're sharing many debates and meetings and fundraisers during that time. none of them wore a mask and none of them social distancing. this is very concerning. this has been the issue all along. >> the cdc and dr. fauci, all said how important it is to wear a mask. the trump team has not done a good job or set an example. the number of people could be exposed of at-risk of contracting the virus is significant here. >> what are the next steps now?

the cdc's guidelines quarantining for how long? >> the cdc's guidelines suggested anyone exposed to a case of covid should quarantine for 14 days. it is important to understand. quarantine for 14 days because you can be infected on average any time between 48 hours, post exposure up to 14 days. and so therefore quarantining for 14 days is critical. what has to happen now -- the president and the first lady and hope hicks and anybody else has tested positive, anybody that's been in contact with them within six feet for more than 15 minutes must quarantine. that's what the cdc suggests. >> dr. rimina.

thank you. i want to go to my colleague don lemon now. >> good to see you, you can take over now. >> robyn curnow. we appreciate your coverage. it is stunning news. the president of the united states confirming -- they have both tested positive. tonight potus and i tested positive for covid-19. we'll begin our quarantine process. we'll get through this together. the president of the united states confirming via twitter that he's now tested positive for covid-19 and the first lady as well. we have been on the air since about 9:45.

the president confirming the news that was reported by bloomberg network that the president of the united states come in contact with hope hicks, who is one of his closest aide testing positive for covid. after she tested positive, the president and the first lady got their tests and they're awaiting it. the president gave an interview to fox news viewers that she he awaiting test results and he and the first lady would quarantine. >> i want to bring in brian stelter. the news we have been getting, this was a red alert for the administration when it comes to what could happen and now i think our worse fears and i am sure the president and the first

lady have been realized. >> don, i said hours ago this was a code red moment for the u.s. moment before we had these diagnoses. knowing that the president is sick and the pandemic is affecting personnel at the white house. this is the most dangerous moment that the u.s. government has ever faced. the president is suffering from a deadly virus, it is something that we should be watching on an episode of "homeland." the president of the united states suffering from a deadly virus. he's not able to fully perform his duties as commander-in-chief. based on the number of personnel that he comes into contact with every single day without wearing a mask, it is logical that others senior personnel within the national security apparatus could be infected by this virus.

the u.s. government is incredibly vulnerable at this moment. we do not have a full team on deck. that means there are major gaps in our national security coverage based on the diagnoses. >> what are the risks here? what happens? what has been reported tonight and i am trying to get the information here. we just gotten off the air when this news came across twitter that the president and the first lady tested positive for coronavirus. this is what i am learning, sam. the vice president was not in close contact with hicks. the president is going to have to quarantine, ill assume some of the work would have to be handed to the vice president of the united states but if the

vice president of the united states has to quarantine as well then that'll go to the speaker. who knows what happens at this moment? can you walk us through this? >> the president of the united states may be at this juncture. based on the number of people he comes into contact with before we get continuity, simultaneous to that, there is a continuity plan that's in place. every administration puts together one of those continuity plan. if infection cripples the top tier of the government, there is a plan in place. don, i don't have a great faith that this administration has done any scenario planning. at this point is unclear to me

that the president and his team have done basic homework to try to figure out what to do if the president of the united states is una i belieble to perform hi. this is an unprecedented situation based on the infection and based on the white house's lack of preparedness. i need both of you standby, sam and brian. i want to bring in kaitlyn collins. the breaking news tonight is that the president of the united states and the first lady have both tested positive for the coronavirus. the president releasing the information via twitter just moments ago. saying tonight, flotus and i tested positive, we'll begin our quarantine process immediately. we'll get through this together. kaitlan, are you getting anything from the white house? what are you hearing? > >> reporter: this is a nightmare scenario.

32 days before donald trump is up for reelection. he and the first lady tested positive from the coronavirus. we got memo that the white house released and i am going to read it to you as i am going through it for the first time. it is from the white house's doctor, dr. shawn connerly. i released the following information with the permission of president trump and first lady, melania trump, i received confirmation that both are tested positive for coronavirus. he says they are both well at this time and they plan to remain at home within the white house during their quarantine. he does not specify a time there. the white house medical team and i will maintain a vigilant watch. i appreciate the support provided by the greatest medical professionals. i expect the president to continue caring out his duty without disruptions recovering and i will keep you updated.

the last line is going to raise some questions of what it means for the president. he's going to be in quarantine for the next two weeks. how does that affect how he's doing his job? he's going to perform the duty, that means there is not any power of situation going on. there are going to be so many questions raised and also questions raised of what the president did today and yesterday and those people he was around. he aintettended in-door fund rr today and he was not wearing a mask and he was around thousands of people around this rally outdoors tonight and still in close proximity to these people. this is going to raise so many questions, don.

i can't stress enough, this is a nightmare scenario for the white house. we had a suspicion this is in the making because they have been so quiet of what his diagnose was and taken so long for us to get these results that something seems to be up. now we know what it was that was going on. i want to read the entire statement because it is important for our viewers and around the world. kaitlan, the president and the first lady positive testing for coronavirus. tonight flotus and i tested positive for covid-19, we'll begin our recovering process immediately. that was the first official word that we got from the president and the first lady fetested positive. kaitlan, you got a response from the president's doctor, what did that statement say?

>> that's from dr. connolly. he says they'll be quarantining and it does not say how long the two of them are going to be quarantined. the president's trip to orlando is off. it does say rest assure, i expect the president to caring out his duties without disruption while recovering. it is going to be breasting int what the president does. 32 days from today is election day. the question of whether or not he's going to be at the white house is something they'll have to deal with. and of course now that he's tested positive, it changes the calculation of everything.

you do not have coronavirus spread happening to not wearing a mask and not taking any measures. we have seen the worst case scenario of an aide tested positive and the president and the first lady now tested positive. >> there were other people in close contact with the president of the united states and hope hicks as well. >> i want to know what happe happens -- dr. connolly says the president is going to quarantine for 14 days. is he going to stay in quarantine or continue to do the business of the american people while he's in quarantine. we don't know what happens with the debate and what happens with the rest of his campaigning until election day.

>> this is the last thing the white house want this to happen. now their worst fear has been realized. the politics is a big question here. also a general health of the president. he's in an at-risk category. that's something medical experts have said for a long time given his blood pressure and his weight. the president is not someone doctors can say well, he does not these morbidity that he does not have to worry about like hope hicks like someone who's younger. the president does have risk factor. that's the safety and the health of the president of the united states before we'll get to whether he'll be able to go to debates or anything at the white house. it is the health of the

president. you kind of hear it in sean hannity's voice. that's what led them to take one that took us so long to get the results here at 1:00 a.m. on the east coast and we are just now finding out these results. there are so many questions just of the health of the president for the next -- until he recovers and how this experience is for him. >> kaitlan, i want you to standby there, kaitlyn collins reporting at washington, d.c. of what's happening. the president sending on twitter

saying flotus and i have been tested bfor coronavirus. that's from the president of the united states and this was sent out by the white house's press secretary, it is a memorandum, it is from sean connolly, the president's physician. it says "on behalf of the first lady, donald trump, the president of the united states, i release the information with the permission of the president, both president trump and melania trump have tested positive for coronavirus. the president and the first lady are both well at this time and they plan to remain at home at the white house.

the white house's medical team and i will remain a individuvig watch. i appreciate the support by our medical institutions, rest assure, i expect the president continue to carry out his duties without disruptions while recovering and i will keep you updated on any further development. here is the interesting thing. the doctor may say that but according to government protocol, i am not sure if the president of the united states can legitimately carry out the business of the presidency while he's in quarantine. all of those things have yet to be determined regardless of what the white house's position is or what the president wants at this moment. there are certain protocols that have to be followed here. our kaitlyn collins have been following this story from washington, d.c. do we have samantha who's with

us as well? she's been briefing us what happens at this moment. do we have samantha with us, yes or no? >> we don't have samantha. we'll go back to kaitlan. we don't know if that's sure now that if it is possible. we don't know the president's condition. who knows what's going to happen and what his condition will be while he's in quarantine and while this virus progresses in his body. >> that's the number one question is the president's health. i don't think any sitting president in office have faced something like this. you think of ronald reagan being shot and things of that nature

coming to mind when you think of the president having something so serious and so unknown. there are a lot of unknown about coronavirus where we see how it affects some people severely and some people not at all. sometimes it depends on their age and morbidity. it is unpredictable at best. that's why health experts s been so concerned about it. it is not just the people who are young that don't have anything to worry about that can go back and do this. the fear is they would spread it to other people. people who are older like the president who is in his 70s and do have risks. they do say the president is feeling well, that's great news. this is a massive threat facing the white house just to see how the president does fair with this. it is not known. we have no idea how this will end up and it is remarkable that this is a place where we have gotten to especially on a day the president was at this in-door fundraiser and he had a

prerecorded remark, he said the end of the pandemic was insight. he was talking in hopeful term that is we heard the president use so often describing this country. for everyone who works in the white house or everyone who works throughout the administration, it is a worst case scenario. what they do going forward and how this changes the structure of the president and the vice president who met with the president was in the oval office on tuesday and other staffers inside the white house interacted closely with now two or three people have coronavirus, president trump and hope hicks and the first lady, she's not in the west wing as much but now there are two people in the west wing who had coronavir coronavirus. we are meeting with other officials that it is going to be a massive concern. >> we have the former president of the united states who is now

running for president to take donald trump's -- they were on stage with each other and speaking loudly. we have brian stelter watching down. he's watching the dow futures that's plunging right now. i want to get to sanjay gupta, thank you very much for joining us at 1:23 a.m. we are learning that the president of the united states has tested positive. he's 74 years old. he is obese. how great of a risk of someone of his age and his health background? >> this is one of the great concerns.

statistically still, the statistics are on people's side even at that age. this is a great concern. he's a vulnerable person because of his age and preexisting conditions. and this is the sort of thing that you know medical team is going to have to be watching out for and see if he does have symptoms and how quickly hethes symptoms may occur and what to do about it. it is tough to put in an exact number about it. we do know of course who's going to be more vulnerable and who's not. i don't know, don, it does not sound like president trump has had any symptoms. this is all based on the test that came back, is that right? >> i am not sure of the type of testing that came back because the memorandum does not say sanjay. i am sure if you guys ar are -- zach, can you e-mail the memorandum to sanjay so he can

look at it. it does not say what kind of testing. it says he tested positive for covid virus. that's all it says. this is more surveillance testing. as kaitlan pointed out, people in the west wing tested positive. i am not surprised given the contagious of this virus and lacks protocol within the west wing of small confined space and people who are infected and not wearing masks and even if they are being tested on a daily or regular basis. testing does not prevent one from getting the virus.

this is up to the doctor in the west wing are going to be watching out for. even before the president was diagnosed and hope realistic hi diagnosed and at that point given the proximity of the president. >> let me take a moment here, doctor, this is horrible for the president for the first lady and hope hicks and anyone who came in contact with them and are possibly positive for the

coronavirus as well. as we know from our colleagues who have tested positive. it is not an easy thing. it affects many people in different ways. but, it can obviously we know 270,000 people have died from coronavirus. we hope the president gets through this. we hope the first lady gets through this and hope hicks as well. it is also an awful they think for this country, the leader of the free way tested positive for v coronavirus. we don't know, maybe now he's feeling well but there are so many unknowns at the moment. >> yes. there really are. as you are pointing out, people immediately will start looking at all the data and what is the data going to suggest based on the number of people contracted this infection, millions of

people here in the united states and around the world. there are people who are older and they do just fine. it is tough to speculate in terms of what the course is and the medical overall course he's going to have going forward. look, this is unsettling and people are hearing this for the first time. it is something that you know is not entirely unexpected. people have kept saying, we have been through this. and we talked to people who follow the pandemic who were in the second or third ending of this. it is one of these things -- it

is something that you have to think to to the back of your mind. it is not surprising and the contagiousness of this and several people in the west wing that the president had regular contact with. >> should we read anything into the there? >> it is a good question, don. if they use the term isolation that they're going to be isolated, that would have meant to me asymptomatic . we are isolating people to prevent them from the spread of

the virus. what are those symptoms and what are being done to treat those symptoms. again, i want to stress that it is likely that the president will recover from this disease and even with his age but obviously he's considered vulnerable and there could be no short cuts. we have seen a lot of shortcuts with regards to how the no masks and obviously people are still doing meetings within in doors and poorly ventilated staying in the west wing small quarter. now that you have the infection, there could not be any

shortcuts. the doctors can immediately address things and there is no particular cure >> sanjay, please, i know it is an important story, i hope you stick with us and standby. i will bring indica kaitlan col and carl bernstein is joining us and brian stelter. brian, can we talk about the president. he's always concerned of the economy, we know. the dow future are plunging at the moment which is very important to the economic health of the world. >> the dow future is down more than 400 points and nasdaq and s&p is down 1.5% right now. that's expected.

the worst year in recent memory just keeps on getting worse. the leader of the free world is sick. he's watching tv right now and i hope we can all say the same thing, we wish you well mr. president and feeling better as soon as possible. the president is like 43,000 other americans who all tested positive for the virus. this is happening in so many towns and cities. this virus is an unequal killer. right now transparency and honesty is going to be key for this white house. this white house, we can't trust what they say but now more than ever we have to be able to trust what the president and his aide are telling the american people and let us hope honesty prevails

in this moment because everybody is watching now and be confident in the president's health and confident of the people around him. >> carl, in large part, he chose to go out to rallies and he chose to down play masks and not essential distance and call it a hoax and so on and so forth. >> it is horrible that the president has this. he chose to handle the situation this way, people in the west wing and the administration saying it is frown upon to wear a mask. is this inevitable? >> it is recklessness and it contributes to this horrible situation. we need to look at the right thing. we are now in the midst of a national security crisis.

we have to think about possible of the markets. we don't know what his health is going to be and the election campaign. every aspect of our nationa national -- in terms of stability, these are now affected in waves that we could never envisioned a day and i think we need to start from that perspective, political equation and what you are talking about is there as well. the kugt conduct of handling th

virus is front and center of the election campaign than it ever has been. first let's look at all the invitations in terms of our national security and i am sure there are all kinds of works gone out to military and civilians and the vice president is under a different regime tha. as this unfolds, it is going to be all new to us. >> do we still have kaitlan collins with us? >> as too many americans have done, potus and i will quarantining at home after tested positive for covid-19. we are feeling good and i have

postponed all coming up engagements. we'll all get through this together. that's from the first lady of the united states, dr. gupta. i am sure as too many americans have done this year, a lot of them - sanjay, are you still there? okay, we don't have dr. gupta. this is from the first lady. "as too many americans have done this year, potus and i are at home, i have postponed all ongoing engagements." with many americans having to deal with this situation and quite frankly many americans who

have died from this all of a sudden, this virus is at the highest level of our government, the president and the first lady of the united states. >> right. >> what ill say to the american people is this is not a time to panic. very likely the president and the first lady will recover from this. we learned a lot over the eight months of this pandemic of how to treat this disease and there are some things to do should the president become more ill or incompacitated. the president has full-time medical staff with him all the time, teams of

physicians and nurses and stis ta assistance. the constitution of the united states haswell defin well-de well-defines -- enables the president temporarily transfer power to the vice president should he not up to the job. >> i need to get to kaitlan collins. i understand you have new information. what do you have for us? >> reporter: you have to consider the wide range of ru repercussion. we already know who's traveling with hope hicks and what's going on with the capitol hill. mark meadows and steven mnuchin,

meadows have been up there meeting with senators all week. # those things have been going on. these officials have been interacting with the president and potentially hope hicks have been in capitol hill meetings with a supreme court nominee and the house speaker of course is third in line for the president. so this could be wide-ranging. that's something we have got to watch over the next few days, not just in addition to the president sharing a stay with joe biden two nights ago and what's going to happen to the future of the debate and the immediate question of who potentially this virus could have been spread to in washington, these power houses who are charged with running the

country. >> also, what about joe biden? how much of concern or how concern should he be if at all? >> i am sure his team will test him tomorrow. >> i think former vice president is probably safe but i am sure they'll test him. what's important to remember going forward is that the use of mask have been very, very -- i would say inconsistently used among the president's team. you saw the president's team without masks. you see the president's team all

the time without masks. it has to be a constant tool. if they go up to the hill to meet people, they have to wear masks. masks is part of the daily power in this country. it is a unique tool. it has ton emphasized. we'll get through this. my suggestion is, many people will test negative and there will be a lot of nervousness over the next several days and likely the president will do okay and we'll move on from this scary moment. but, look, what the west wing is experiencing now is what the country has experienced for the last eight months. this virus is very real. we are not turning a corner. we are still very much in the middle of this virus which is

why until we have a vaccine, we need to redouble our efforts to social distance and wear a mask. we'll come together as a country. we pray for his recovery and we need to take care of each other and get through the winter and we'll start vaccinating the country and we'll move on. i am confident about that. >> carl, i want to ask you, what do you think this does to the election and the country and quite frankly what this will mean for the president and his supporters? the president has down played the virus and admitted on tape to your colleagues and friends, bob woodward and chose to down play, i didn't want to panic people. walk us through the landscape of the possibilities here even we don't know for sure. what do you see? >> it is inevitable.

covid becomes the central issue in his denial of covid really. it could not be handled in a cavalier way which is what he did and said about it. we now have the president of the united states and the first lady and others and entourage also having covid. an unknown politics and our market and business and division. are we finally going to let the

science prevail? is the president going to say it is time for scientists to be listened to? also, let's take a look at the effectiveness on the rest of the world because it is going to be noticed and there will be movement in great britain and the u.k. right now, open up we don't want to be locked downright now. it is hard to imagine that after this that there is not going to be around the world, another look at a cavalier approach that we must start to do what the scientists have told us and epidemiologists told us.

we now have a defining moment in which the presidency has changed and which danger to our national security has changed and ramped up and i am sure that responsible people and responsible places in this administration are taking steps the see that everything is being done to perceive now that we have this horrible wake up call. >> brian, a big part of the administration have been the conservative media. as i understand now, well, what i am trying to understand is how they are going to portray this now. are they going to continue on with the messaging of the president and carrying the water o f the president by down playing this virus or will they now turn to scientists and not

dr. atlas of the world who continue to promote such thing as herd immunity and down play masks. are we going to hear more from the fauci and birx of the world rather than the atlas and the president's wish full thiful th this power. >> everyday is a new day and everyday is a new show. forget the day before, there is a new show today. obviously this story line is very serious and very urgent and it is completely different from yesterday. we are going to have to look back at the timeline about this, don. hope hicks was feeling symptoms on wednesday evening. she was tested positive on thursday and the white house did not notify the publics until there were leaks from the white

house a house. there are obviously domino effect that's going to be explored here. i interviewed dr. fauci early this week and he's honest as he always is but unfortunately his voice was not taken seriously by the president. he does not see the president. his message is simple. the winter is going to be tough but we can get through it together through masks and social distancing and even into 2021, this is not a short term solution. the president earlier today said that we are getting close to the end of it. now he may do it differently and let me just say -- >> closing to the end o f the pandemic is what he says. sorry. >> right. that's not true. and he may feel that in a way he did not before.

the next debate is about two weeks, we can say right now there may not be a debate or by zoom call. maybe this format is going to be the safest way to have a debate. the president is coming off his 14-day quarantine and the biden cam pap may not want to put him in the same room of the president. that's an example of how these dominos are going to fall not just days but for weeks to come. >> the interesting part, brian. >> if i may -- >> go ahead. that also has to do with republicans in general. especially in the senate races but also republican party on capitol hill which is following this president's steps in den l

denial. this is not going to help republicans. i think we can safely assume this. there two of the dynamic of yesterday and today, everything - everything is subject to this domino effect and at the same time everything is another, everything is up the the air, we don't know where this is going except it is going to be different. >> i want you guys to standby, i want to bring in dr. sanjay gupta who joins us live. i appreciate you joining us. this is a big moment for the country and for the world, take us through it. what do you think of it? >> well, you know, it is unsettling and people are hearing it for the first time. right away it gives you a jolt for sure and we wish obviously

the president well and it sounds like reading that memorandum he's doing well. it did not say clearly if he had any symptoms. i think we have known for some time of a contagious virus circulating. people say, well, the president and people around him are being tested on a regular basis. as i think people know, by now, testing gives you the information, after the fact. it's very important, because then, you can take people who have been tested positive. you can isolate them. and you can, then, trace their

contacts and start quarantining people who have been in close contact with somebody. and that's going to be a very important policy, here, within the west wing. within many quarters, now, over the last several days. to see who -- who does, now, need to be quarantined, in addition. again, not just in the west wing. but in other places. vice president biden may have been far enough away on that stage. and i know that they came in from different areas, probably, did not spend time close together. but he is going to need to be tested as well. all the campaign staffers. so it's going to be critical. >> can i -- can i ask you about the current vice president? because according to the current information i have, vice president mike pence was not in close contact with hope hicks. that's when we knew hope hicks tested positive, before we knew about the president and the first lady. but pence is on camera saying that he was in the oval office with the president on tuesday.

so, my question is the vice president is possibly exposed, at this point. and i'm sure people are wondering if pence is going to be ready to do a debate with kamala harris on wednesday, if the current vice president has possibly been exposed to covid. if he met with the president on tuesday, what's the likelihood that he's been exposed, that he's possibly positive? >> well, i think you had ve to treat people as potentially exposed, at this point. there are criteria for this sort of thing. how close were they in contact? how long were they in contact? but, look, you know, we have to be very, very cautious here. and keep in mind, people will say, well, i tested negative, the next day, after the exposure. therefore, i am good to go. that is not the case. you could have exposure today, test negative tomorrow, the next day, and so forth for several days. and then, suddenly, test positive. and it could be due to that

exposure, several days earlier. my point is, you have to be very cautious here. and again, people will probably get specific and say, hey, look. the contact wasn't that long. they stood far enough apart from each other. but who knows? i mean, we are dealing with the leaders of the country, here. and i think they have to be very, very careful. so, you know, i'm sure there is lots of considerations going on, right now. but if they were to be treated according to cdc guidelines, according to how other people would be treated, then the president, the first lady, anyone who is positive, would clearly be isolated. one could have already made the argument the president needed to be quarantined just on the fact that hope hicks tested positive. and then, people who have had that contact, including the current vice president, may need to be quarantined, which is the term for people who aren't positive but are suspicious. and that is -- that is -- that

would be following health protocol. but, don, i guess, the point you are making. there have not been a lot of the basic, public health protocols that have been followed in terms of masking and things like that, already. so i'd be very curious to see how they carry this forward. i mean, this is -- they need to take this seriously. >> as i said, as i have been saying, there are so many unknowns, at this moment. the president's doctor is saying the president's going to carry out his duties without disruption while recovering. well, we don't know that, for sure, yet. we will have to see, you know, how the president feels. if that is, indeed, part of the protocol of the government because, you know, at some point, the vice president's supposed to take over if the president can't carry out his duties, in any way, or is incapacitated. i'm not sure. it seems from the doctor's note, memorandum, that it indicates the president is feeling okay. but my question is, as you said, there are so many unknowns. my question is the former vice president, you believe, that when we were on that stage just a couple days ago, that they were far enough apart that the

former vice president joe biden should not be concerned? or should he be concerned? should he be tested? >> he should absolutely be tested. there's no question about it. i mean, i know that they were following these protocolings pr they were doing this debate. and you got to keep in mind this is not exact science, here, don. >> but, sanjay, members of the president's family sat there with no masks. i think the first lady is the o only one who wore a mask. i mean, come on. >> yeah. no. look. these events have been concerning to me, from the start. i think this has always been about let's see what we can get away with, right? i mean, whether it was that debate in terms of actually having people indoors, for a period of time like that. there is data, now, on the fact that this virus -- and by the way, people are wearing masks so that they don't put virus into the air.

right? so, when first lady melania trump's wearing a mask, in part, really, when i think of that, i think that she is doing that to protect the people around her. may offer her some protection, as well. but -- >> good thing she was wearing. >> she was wearing it to help protect the people around her. >> yeah. sanjay, i want -- >> the president may have already been exposed, at that point. we don't know when he was exposed. you know, and now, he may just now be testing positive. >> stand by, sanjay. i want to bring kaitlan collins in. kaitlan, let me ask you this. this is -- this is an updated daily guidance and press schedule for friday, october 2nd, 2020. this is from the white house. it is indicating, here, that at 10:00 a.m., the president is still going to have in-house call time. and at 12:15 p.m., the president hosts a call on covid-19 support to vulnerable seniors. now, he was supposed to go to florida. he was supposed to do different

events. that is not on this schedule. it says closed press after the 12:15 event but it seems he is still trying to get some work in tomorrow. >> yeah. and it will be interesting to see if they continue to put things like that on the president's schedule, moving forward. notice, it says it's closed press. there is a bit of irony that it is a call on covid-19 support for vulnerable seniors. and that is the only thing that is going to remain on the president's schedule, and that reminds me of what's at the end of the doctor's letter from the president's physician, that says he is going to continue to fulfill his presidential duties. but, of course, the question is, what are those duties going to look like? and what happens if his staff is having to quarantine as well? given the fact that they have been around him. his chief of staff, mark meadows, is one of them who's been obviously constantly around the president as he was getting ready for the debate. but he's also been on capitol hill with the supreme court nominee, amy coney barrett. just how many levels of power are going to be involved in this

and may potentially have to quarantine. there you see it. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell on the right. the supreme court nominee in the center. and then, on the left, you see the president's three, top aides. the vice president mike pence, mark meadows, and the guy on the left in the red tie is the white house counsel, pat cipollone. these are all massive pow power players that have all been around the president and hope hicks and nowi both of them hav tested poz fisitive for coronav. so the question of what power is going to look like in washington as we figure out how severe the president's diagnosis is going to be, and how widespread this really is among his circle is just to be determined. we do not know the depth of it. we are going to have to wait to find out. that's something that we'll just to learn, in the coming days. but it's going to raise a lot of questions about the campaign, as well, and the future of that. because i heard brian saying it's 13 days away is the next presidential debate. obviously, that is shorter than the 14-day quarantine period that happens.

there are still questions about how the president will be tested, when they will decide he's cleared from coronavirus. and really, how the next two weeks look for him, if he does develop symptoms. if he does not start to feel well like his doctor says he does today. and it raises questions about joe biden's campaign, too, don, and whether or not he is going to suspend his campaign. thinking back, someone much smarter than me pointed out in 1912, when teddy roosevelt had been an assassination attempt, woodrow wilson suspended his campaign, and waited for him to recover. so, is this a situation like that? where the biden campaign takes a step like that? do they continue campaigning over the next few weeks knowing that the president can't? we are in a critical timeframe. it was already basically a pressu pressure cooker inside the trump campaign and now this diagnosis is their worst nightmare, don. >> and this is -- listen -- this is, again, so many unknowns. sanjay, i'm going to ask you

because you are the doctor. you saw the photograph that kaitlan made us aware of. you see mitch mcconnell. you see mark meadows. you see the vice president. and you see amy coney barrett, right? so, she is there. the hearings are supposed to start. are they going to have to be postponed, now? is she going to have to quarantine because the vice president, admittedly, on camera, saying that he met -- he was in the oval office. he met with the president on tuesday. >> yeah. i mean, so, this is concerning. this is very concerning, obviously, and there's going to need to be significant contact tracing. a word that we don't talk about nearly enough because it's impossible, really, in this country to contact trace 40,000 people a day. but, here, you have a situation and kaitlan's putting up this photograph. where this is the kind of thing that people are going to look at and say, well, what were the various contacts now between people? strictly speaking, we're really talking about the idea of -- of quarantining people who've come in contact with someone with known covid.

now, ve