rinse, refresh with dove men + care body wash that washes away germs and moisturizes skin to refresh you and your skin with every shower ♪ >> jon: oh, baby. our game track. marlins, leading this one, 2-0.

boog sciambi, and that dancing fool, hall-of-famer chipper jones. as garcia takes over on the mound. and harrison is in center center and sierra moves to left. the marlins six outs away. garcia, who pitched in game one, and fired a shutout inning, including a couple of punchouts, he was great this year. 14 appearances, better than a strikeout an inning. rizzo hits it in the air. and rojas, no, that's anderson. i beg your pardon.

so sierra, harrison, brinson, left to right. anderson, rojas, berti, and cooper. and yimi garcia on the mound. the marlins five outs away, leading it, 2-0. the cubs have been held to one run on one swing in this series. a happ solo homer in the fifth on wednesday. that's been it. >> chipper: been an impressive performance by alcantara, sanchez, and this marlins bullpen. they've absolutely been in control from pitch one of game one. >> jon: contreras, plunked. is the umpire calling him back? will little is saying he put his

elbow into it. and i'm guessing david ross may get thrown out here. >> chipper: i don't really know that he needed to stick his elbow out. it made it look blatant, but i think that ball was chasing him anyway. maybe not. that's a very crucial point in this game to make that call. you hardly ever see that actually called by a home plate umpire. i don't know that i would have called it, to be honest with you. but when you stick that flap up like that, calling attention to yourself. >> jon: yeah. squares to bunt. there's a strike.

and contreras and little, i think, having a chat here. so it goes as a ball, as he gets called back. they have the shift on the infield. that time, it hit him. okay. contreras doing a little bit of barking. the crew chief coming in. will little is out to talk to yimi garcia. here's number one, just a slider that backed up.

>> chipper: that one had a little more fuzz, a little more intent on it. i think the pitch before contreras and garcia were chirping at each other, that promoted little to come out and get in between them. but you certainly don't want to bring the tying run to the plate, do that on purpose. >> jon: the cubs are 3 for 22 with men on in this series. schwarber here, 0 for 2. and garcia missing outside. now, 2-0. >> chipper: this is go time for

schwarber. unbutton that top button. maybe even the second one. >> jon: and mel coming out, who knows. you saw garcia and contreras barking at each other. maybe garcia is still kind of stuck in that. and agitated. but as contreras chats with craig driver over there, no one is up in the marlins pen. and mel is just trying to settle him down a little bit. we showed you garcia's numbers. small sample size. but he was really good. schwarber pops it up. that will get off, out of play.

>> chipper: kyle's done this to a ton of fastballs in this series. he's gotten pitches to hit out over the plate. we're used to seeing him drive those balls out of the ballpark. he's up under them, shanking them to the third base dugout and left field. we'll see if he throws a little top hand into one. >> jon: center field, harrison glides across and makes the grab. contreras, back to first. and there are two outs. one of the things we talked about in the open, the cubs, since winning the world series in 2016, they've lost 8 of their last 12 postseason games. and since winning the world series, that trio, .136. including today. 51 strikeouts, out of 140 at-bats. 0 for 10 today. i mean, it falls on your big

boys, right? >> chipper: it certainly does. >> jon: and the other thing, as well, that is interesting to contemplate, chipper, bryant, baez, rizzo, and schwa schwa sca all scheduled to be free agents at the end of 2021. you wonder if this might not be the final ride for that quartet. one of them may be moving for financials, who knows. trying to clear a little bit of payroll. but the bottom line is, since winning it all, they haven't hit. >> chipper: thus the job of the gm in a big market. theo epstein has to make some very tough, important decisions here pretty soon. >> jon: yeah. >> chipper: i don't envy that spot. but when you look to go back to the numbers that you were talking about, even in this

series, you know, 1 for 22 out of your big boys will not get it done. >> jon: epstein, the president of baseball operations. the gm, jed hoyer. bryant lifts it to center, it falls in the glove of harrison. the marlins, three outs away. this presentation of major league baseball will continue after this message and a word from our abc stations.

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whenever you're dressing up to stay in. getting some brownie points. or witnessing a miracle! sorry, jess... go big with delicious nachos topped with all your favorites. nachos party pack. only at taco bell. [sfx: bong] >> jon: the winner of this series will take on the braves.

the first postseason series win over the reds since 2001. 28-inning postseason shutout streak, goes back a ways, for the pitching. duvall and and jeffress takes over here. 22 appearances. game one, they gave up the homer to aguilar. chipper jones, what about the braves and what about a matchup with the marlins? >> chipper: yeah, i can't imagine that too many people thought a series between the braves and the reds would be as well pitched as it was. you know, with the two potent offenses. so, yeah, the braves come in,

obviously pitching really, really well. they're going to have to. this is a good marlins team. a team that gave them trouble throughout the year. so, you know, excuse me, if the marlins do advance, it will be a very intriguing matchup. i look forward to it. the braves have gotten some good starting pitching out of anderson and wright of late. so we'll see if they can keep it going. >> jon: jeffress gets the chase. and now, 2-2. cooper with the big swing in this one. 2-2. a little roller. third base side. jeffress picks it up and throws him out at first. nice play.

don mattingly trying to lead the marlins into the division series. you see that number 8 on his gaiter. in his playing career, he wore number 23. he chose number 8 specifically for a reason, that's for yogi berra. he said he wanted 23 to be a yankee thing. and when he's managed and coached, he's worn number 8. he said yogi berra, the best person i've been around. very cool. >> chipper: and having met yogi, i know exactly what he means. it's truly an honor to be in his presence. >> jon: ball one to brinson. i mentioned he grew up in south florida as a marlins fan. he came over as a key piece in the yelich trade. but, yeah, grew up a marlins

fan. that makes some of us feel old. a great juan pierre fan, he has gotten a chance to work with j.p. one of the hardest workers i've ever seen in my life. that guy, a really good player, and the work ethic, second to none. helping to mentor brinson a bit. jeffress, 2-0. in for a strike. the marlins, up, 2-0. jon sciambi and chipper jones. we're in the ninth from an empty wrigley field. i'm in bristol, chipper is in atlanta. fans or no fans, you know the marlins are going to celebrate if they eliminate the cubs. fouled that off his foot. >> chipper: what a thrill it must be to grow up a fan of a team, and then to don that major league uniform.

that must just be the coolest thing. and going back to juan pierre, one of the best dudes you're ever going to run across in major league baseball. without a doubt the best bunter that i ever faced. i literally had to play 75 feet from home plate just -- i dared him to hit the by me, you know? because i was so, third basemen don't like to be bunted on. so when you have a really good bunter, you want to take that out of their arsenal. >> jon: and he was one of those guys, just because you were ready and aware for a bunt, there were times he would try and succeed, still bunting. he would still try you. >> chipper: how about this. he would suck me in bunting it, and pop it over my head. he got a double like that one time. >> jon: wow.

out to short. baez, bad hop, slings to first. and two down. we've never done october like this before. that means anything can happen. mlb has you covered on facebook, instagram, twitter and youtube. follow @mlb. from wrigley field, the marlins, 2, and the cubs, 0. if you're just joining us, the marlins with two in the seventh. a homer by cooper. and then magneuris sierra with an rbi single to score brinson. yu darvish was good, but gave up the two. and for the cubs in the ninth, it is scheduled to be heyward, baez, and bote.

hit hard. nice play at third. gets up, throws him out. and rizzo with the stretch. a heck of a play. stole extra bases from rojas. we go to the ninth. our coverage of marlins/cubs will continue on espn. let's take you to new york for a special report. now, here's george stephanopoul stephanopoulos. this is an abc news special report. >> we're coming on the air with a major update on president trump's health. he reported this morning that he tested positive for covid-19. an escalation, of the symptoms, he's been treated and is expected to be going to walter reed medical center for more tests.

let's go to jon karl. >> we're told he has fever, chills, nasal congestion and a could have. the white house has not confirmed the trip to walter reed, but they've released a statement from the doctor saying the president remains fatigued, but in good spirits. taking regeneron and a series of vitamins and aspirin. they say the first lady has a mild cough and headache. we're awaiting word on the trip to walter reed. >> let's get more from dr. jen ashton. what we know now is that fever, as jon said, the classic symptoms. also the single eight-gram dose of regeneron. what does that say to you? >> well, i think the first thing to understand, george, is that the president's physician and

team of consultants will be making an assessment on things like how the blood oxygen level. vital signs, fever, chills. whether or not they may need special care. when you talk about this experimental cocktail of antibodies, it's a treatment for patients who may be thought to be at an increased risk of not being able to mount their immune response. it's been shown to shorten the duration of symptoms and reduce the amount of virus circulating in the body. it does tell you they made a calculated risk assessment, and the benefits outweighed the risk of giving the drug. and the benefits of moving the president to walter reed

outweighed the benefits of staying at the white house. >> and doctor, please tell us about the significance of the eight-gram dose, and what you've seen so far in your results. >> first, i should correct one thing. it's a cocktail of antibodies -- >> the white house called it poly -- >> i think it was an error in transcription. i think it was described well. she said the consultants looked at all the data, and just because of the suggestion of antiviral activity, they deemed based on the risk/benefit, it would be worth trying it. we tested two doses in our

trial. they went with the high dose. and i guess once again, they assessed there were no increased safety, very few reasons to be concerned about safety. they decided more is better, and went with the high dose, the eight-gram dose. >> have you seen any side effects? >> right now, in our studies, we have a very benign safety and tolerability. and we all have to remember, it's very different than vaccines. vaccines are inducing an immune response. sometimes they can overinduce. we're giving the antibodies, substituting for your own antibodies, and you don't tend to get the same concerns about overinducing the immune response. >> doctor, thank you for your

time. back to dr. jen ashton. the white house said he tested negative for coronavirus on thursday, and did the events. mild symptoms reported this morning, now serious enough for the president to go to walter reed. what does that tell you? >> it's interesting, because from other viruses, we know that a shorter incubation period from when a person is exposed to when they start to manifest symptoms can generally mean that the person has a higher viral load. more copies, more volume of that virus inside. we don't know if that's the case with covid. but as you've heard, we've talked about it many times. according to data on all the published reports, about 80% of persons can be managed out of the hospital setting. to bring a patient to the hospital, this is not just any patient. they will err on the side of

caution because of who the patient is. but in general, when someone's symptoms progress rapidly, and they feel they need more observation, they will err on the side of caution and admit someone. >> it's especially surprising, as you point out, it's the president of the united states. he has an entire battery of medical equipment at the white house as well. so they're taking this very seriously at this point. in part, as we've talked about, the president, a 74-year-old man. weighs 245 pounds. >> exactly. when you look at the risk factors, aingge, being a man, having a bmi of 30 and above increases the risk of complications. and when you talk about who this patient is, and the potential

benefits of having other services at his disposal in a hospitalized setting, just in case, in medicine, we always prepare for the worst. hope for the best, and take all the steps we need to. so that if the worst case scenario happens, the medical team is ready to respond and respond quickly. >> i want to bring in terry moran. hearing the president may be going to the hospital, this brings up the discussion of the 25th amendment, and perhaps turning over some powers to the vice president. >> that is available to him. it's by the 25th amendment was written. guardrails for the president to choose, if at some point, if his condition worsens and he feels he's not up to discharging, in the words of the constitution, the powers and duties of the office, he writes a letter to

the house and senate declaring that, and mike pence becomes the acting president. it's a temporary measure, he doesn't take the title or the office. but when president trump recovers, he writes a letter and becomes president again. the hard part is if he falls ill quickly and isn't able to get the letter off, then vice president pence under the constitution would assemble the cabinet. if a majority of them vote that the president is not able to discharge the duties and powers of the office, mike pence would become the acting president. t . >> it's only been invoked for routine operations. when president reagan was shot, they did not invoke the 25th amendment. >> they did not. and president reagan's physician

said that was a mistake because he had been shot and was having surgery. and what the chiefs of staff have said, the question is, is the president capable of making a decision? that's the threshold. as soon as he emerges out of anesthesia, that letter reclaiming his powers went out. >> and i want to bring in martha raddatz. the president is headed to walter reed, a facility you know well. >> yes. and it is a massive medical facility. he will get the best care possible. not only from military doctors, but they will have any doctors to help out that they need. the white house said he will have a presidential office there. i think what they mean is a vip

room, which is set up at walter reed. but that is set up for any vip that is there. he can work out of there. and he can also get treatment out of there. but it is a very, very professional hospital, of course. we've seen through the years dozens and dozens and hundreds of soldiers treated there for wounds. the president will be treated for covid, they have protocols there, and they will certainly make way for the president. >> and i want to bring in chris christie, you were helping the president with debate prep through last weekend, up until tuesday around noon, tuesday afternoon. you were in close contact with the president. >> i was, george. we worked saturday, sunday, monday, and tuesday, a few hours each day. mostly in the map room of the white house. and then we also worked in the

oval office a little bit. we were all pretty well spread out in both places. i was probably, you know, three to four feet from the president, sitting across from him, across a rather large table. but we were all together for a number of hours for four days. >> did you notice anything, any symptoms at all? >> no. believe me, he and i had, you know, some good back and forths preparing for the debate. he seemed energetic, ready to go. and i didn't notice anything with him or with hope hicks, who was in the room as well, during those times. they both didn't display any symptoms that i noticed. >> and since you were in such close contact with the president, walk us through the process of how and if the white house contacted you to get tested yourself? >> i have not been contacted by the white house. i found out about hope's

diagnosis through media reports. but obviously when i heard that hope, who i had been in that same room with as well, had tested positive and was symptomatic, i knew i had to be tested. i found that out, i guess, around 9:00 p.m. last night, and i went this morning to a center in new jersey and got a test. and i'm supposed to receive the results first thing tomorrow morning. >> chris, thank you have much. there you see marine one on the white house lawn, preparing to take the president to walter reed. i want to bring in cecilia vega. it's surprising to hear chris say he wasn't contacted by the white house. the white house also facing questions because the president went forward with that trip to b bedminster, new jersey after hicks tested positive.

>> i had a physical reaction after hearing that chris christie had not been contact. that just raises serious, absolutely serious questions about the contact tracing methods that the white house has been using. and you mentioned it, that big trip to bedminster that the president took, even though he had been exposed, potentially 100-some-odd people. and they've been told to take precautions. but this is coming at a time when the polls show the majority of americans don't trust the president's handling of the coronavirus. he's frankly misspoken, mistruth after mistruth about how serious the virus is. he told bob woodward, he admitted to downplaying the severity of the virus, saying he didn't want to worry them.

even though he knew exactly how dangerous this was at the time. there are serious questions right now about how, i think, forthcoming the white house has been. and we're waiting to find out exactly when he was first tested. the white house is not saying that. there are also questions about the president's health. we don't have a complete report of how healthy or not healthy he has been leading up to this. just like he didn't release his tax returns. he has not been fully forthcoming about his health conditions. there is the mystery trip last year to walter reed, we don't know why he went. and as a white house correspondent, i've been astounded since this broke, watching the fallout at the white house. and still seeing aide after aide

addressing the media not wearing masks today. it's been a pretty astounding day so far. >> and we are wondering at what point will the president's doctor come out. i want to go back to dr. jen ashton. people have come into contact with the president since last saturday, and at least two other people at the announcement for judge amy coney barrett, the president of notre dame and governor mike lee of utah have tested positive. but for someone who has been in contact with the president in the last 24 and 48 hours, an immediate negative test doesn't necessarily mean you're in the clear, correct? >> i asked dr. anthony fauci about this question, when is the optimal time to get your test after being exposed?

he said day three, day four, day five. we know the average incubation period for the virus is 5.2 days. and we know that people who are presymptomatic can shed the virus and be contagious up to 48 hours before they, themselves, develop symptoms. that would be the time to get your test. day three, day four, day five. getting tested immediately right after exposure is not that clinically meaningful. and can absolutely present the possibility of a false negative result. so contact tracing is key. we've heard from the beginning, critical to control the outbreak. test, trace, and isolate. seems like there are some big issues in the contact tracing department. >> president trump was across the room from former vice president joe biden on tuesday night at the debate. we learned this morning that biden has tested twice negative today for the coronavirus.

>> he received two negative tests today. one from a doctor in delaware, and another from the former white house doctor who came out. getting an answer about the condition. but it was notable that the former vice president kept his mask on for the entire time. he said it's not about being a tough guy. he argued that masks are a matter of being a good patriot, looking out for your fellow americans. and he called for all americans to have the same access to testing. saying it's not just for people

in the white house or in the campaign who deserve to have that kind of safety and peace of mind. and tuesday, biden was on the debate stage with the president for 90 minutes. even though they were 13 feet apart, but they were not wearing masks. we've asked the biden campaign, and they said they felt comfortable resuming because they were not in close contact, and he was wearing a mask the whole time when he was not on the stage. they say he was not in direct contact with the president. and that's the implication they seem to be giving us. >> and i want to bring in rahm emanuel. you're a strong supporter of vice president biden. is he handling this correctly?

>> yes, i mean, two things. one is, he's handling it correctly by wishing the president and first lady a speedy recovery. and also being reassuring to the public as a whole. not just as a candidate, an opponent of the president, but as an american. and to be honest, that goes to his core point of what he said. even when you disagree with me, i'm going to be the president. and his message about unity and bringing the country together. but he did it exactly right for his message. i can only imagine now looking b at the helicopter on the south lawn, the battle between the medical team, communications team, and the white house political team. making the decision to go to the hospit hospital. >> and you're a former white house chief of staff, this is

about as complicated and personal set of issues you can deal with for a president. >> one of the things that any chief of staff doesn't like when it involves the east wing, meaning the first lady and family, et cetera. and the doctors and medical team made a decision that the white house is not good enough. i know it's all said as preventive, but this has an implication that the white house is just not set up for this. we have to be at a hospital. then you have the political team saying, do you understand that we started the morning on our own 2 yard line, and this will put it on our 1 yard line if not worse. then you have the family's considerations, and in this case, the president's considerations. and you have national security saying one thing, the political team saying another. at the end of the day, you have to pick one side of that scale

or the other. and you can see with that helicopter there, the medical team won this argument. >> from a nearly nonpartisan perspective, if you can put on this institutional hat, what should we be hearing from the white house right now? >> i would get the medical team and doctors, as soon as the helicopter is up, get in the white house briefing room to answer questions. it will be a level of transparency that the country and the presidency needs, and this president needs. all three of those aspects need transparency. and i would put a full medical team with a full report prepared to answer the questions. this is the commander in chief, the leader of the free world, the president of the united states who is being taken to the hospital because he's contracted the virus.

it's the only way, just think of this week. the supreme court nominee, tax returns, debate, and the president contracting covid. and the week is not over. so they need to calm the waters down. and the only way to do that is to get people that are apolitical, deliver the message of full transparency. >> jen ashton, i know you want to weigh in on this? >> what rahm just said is completely on-point. you don't just need to hear from the president's physician, you need to hear from the entire medical team. infectious disease specialists, others who are all consulting on his care. and a full debrief of all the evaluations and his vital signs, what his pulse is, whether a chest x-ray has been done, the

ekg, what medications they've been using. and i think that we need to get to that step. and i think there are a lot of people, both in the lay public and medical profession, who would be interested and reassured if it is just a precautionary measure. >> we've often learned after the fact if the president has health problems in the white house, fdr, jfk, and reagan as well. this is probably the most serious health problem for a president since ronald reagan was shot. >> yes, this is the most serious condition a president has faced since ronald reagan was shot. eisenhower, a very serious heart attack in the white house, and there was no 25th amendment at

that point. this is something to take seriously. but it is important to remember, most people who have it do recover. and the president gets the best medical care in the world. and we're told by the white house that the president has not invoked the 25th amendment to temporarily transfer the powers and duties of the president to vice president mike pence. and that makes sense as long as he's capable of making decisions. the concern about this, and the difference between this and the other instances is in those other instances, there were going to be scheduled absences, reagan and bush were under anesthesia when they handed over the powers. it will be up to president trump to decide when he feels he's got to focus on his health and not be president for a while. >> we don't know exactly what condition the president is in right now.

terry, it makes me think of the trajectory we saw of boris johnson, the british prime minister, he came down with symptoms. wanted to keep on working, kept on working for a few days, then ended up in the hospital in quite a serious situation. >> his father said they almost lost him. it was a very, very bad night. and johnson himself has talked about that. and since he's returned, many observes are openly saying he's not the same man. he's still struggling with what is being called long covid by many, many people who have had it. his focus and energy may not be the same. this is a very serious situation. not just in the coming days and weeks, but perhaps watching out for the long covid affliction.

>> and matthew dowd, this is happening 32 days before the final votes of this presidential campaign. as millions have already voted. >> yeah. and that's the other complicated part of this. we've never faced this in the midst of a presidential campaign. this raises all kinds of questions, i know you talked about the trump campaign. it raises questions for the biden campaign. they'll have to take this on a day-to-day basis. i think they have to really watch this and decide what to do, as this moves forward and see how the president does. and it complicates everything with everybody trying to decide

who they want to be the next president of the united states, and they see a helicopter on the south lawn. >> and the vice presidential debate is said to be going guard next wednesday with mike pence and kamala harris. the next presidential debate is scheduled for october 15th, just outside of the 14-day isolation people for people who have had covid. >> i think people are saying the vice presidential debate will still be on. but things could be totally changed by next monday or tuesday. and i think every one of the people, the biden campaign, the trump campaign, the debate commission, everybody will watch and see how it unfolds. i think as of today it's on, but

you can't guarantee that as of monday or tuesday that they make a different decision. >> jen ashton, what is the right thing to do? we were told on tuesday afternoon, they believe the vice president's staff has said they believe that means he's clear. doesn't have to quarantine or isolate in any way going forward. what are the best guidelines about what people that have had contact should do? >> we've heard a lot of controversy from the cdc going back and forth on what they recommend. that is another piece of information that i think would be very interesting and important for the american public to know. what exactly is the testing protocol for vice president biden? are they being tested every single day? are they self-quarantining at all? are they keeping some distance

between their spouses or their family when they're inside and in an indoor setting? i can tell you again, because i've talked to dr. fauci about this. there's not one firm day that we can say, this is the day that if we test you and you're negative, you're in the clear. this virus is too new, and we don't have all that information right now. we have to err on the side of caution. that is why self-quarantining, if you have a prolonged exposure for 14 days, is recommended. and testing, we heard dr. redfield say it. you need a test, he didn't say when. >> and my mind is going back to the ceremony late saturday afternoon in the rose garden, it was striking to see in that ceremony, most of the invited

guests not wearing masks. all of the military escorts wearing masks. >> yes, all of the escorts had masks on. that is definitely the properto for the military at the white house and all military facilities. they're supposed to wear masks if they can't socially distance. and as i look at the helicopter, i can't help but wonder how the president gets to it. does he walk outside by himself? he'll certainly have to be with people who are in some sort of protective gear. this is a very vigorous president. the last time we heard from him was last night on fox news talking about hope hicks. in that conversation, the president was talking about the military.

he was talking about hope, and he said she's fantastic and does a great job. but it's very, very hard when you are with people from the military or law enforcement, and they come over to you, and want to hug you and kiss you. because we really have done a good job for them. i don't really know what he's talking about there. the last time there was anything with the military was on sunday. it was for gold star families last sunday evening. most people in that room where they had that ceremony for those families did not have masks on. and did not appear to be six feet apart, each of them. the choairman of the joint chies of staff and his wife have tested negative. but there were a lot of people without masks that sunday evening. but the military escorts did have masks on.

>> and rahm emanuel, martha was talking about the walk to the helicopter. usually when he comes out, he often goes and talks to reporters on his way out. what will you be watching for as the president heads towards that helicopter this afternoon? >> remember the time he came back from oklahoma, his tie was undone, and that was the first time we saw him without his tie perfectly cuffed. so, does he have the strength to make it from the map room straight to the helicopter? it's the first time they're going to show him.

it will project strength or not. and so that walk, i'm surprised, to be honest, they didn't do a car. my guess is, this is out of my field. but i'm a spin doctor, this is not reassuring that there's a delay here. >> and cecilia, we've had a lot of radio silence during the day from white house aides. but we've seen mark meadows coming out this morning briefly, and you have this memo from the president's doctor. what is your sense from behind the scenes of how this has hit inside the white house? >> george, look, people are really worried on a personal level. small quarters, behind closed doors there in the west wing. folks who were on air force one or in close proximity to the

president and hope hicks. hicks is a valued aide who works with many people in the administration, and people had close contact with both of them. and i think people are really worried about their own personal safety. they do get tests, they've all been tested and hopefully that will alleviate some of the concerns. we haven't heard of any high-level administration officials testing positive, at least in the last few hours. but it's natural that folks who work in this administration will be really concerned about this. i echo martha's and rahm's question about how we're going to see the president come out of this. because all i can think about right now, looking at this scene, a graduation moment from a few months back when the president appeared to sort of stumble walking down the ramp after speaking at a commencement, and he was so concerned about the public image

that that presented. that it became sort of a story of his own making, because he kept trying to refute that fact that there was anything wrong with his health. pointing out the images, and pointing out the videos, offering explanations over and over again. and all of us who have covered him for this long know this is a president consumed with his own image and the perception of his v vigor, health, and leadership. and so this moment will be unlike anything we've ever seen before. and i don't know how he gets out of that white house and on to that helicopter right now and whether that will be an image that he wants america to see right now. >> and what it means for the president, if it happens, spending a few days in the hospital in the month before the election. and melania trump has also

tested positive. i want to bring in mary jordan, we've learned a few details about her condition right now. also the condition of her son barron. mary jordan? i think her phone isn't connected. so let's bring in lee, and lee, for this to happen, so close to the presidential campaign, on the issue that has come to define the entire campaign, is something we just haven't seen in history. >> no, we haven't seen it at all. the closest we've gotten is something like hillary clinton coming down with pneumonia almost exactly a month ago, i mean a month to this date four years ago. we saw how donald trump treated that. he mocked it, said it's an

example of not having vigorou y vigorousivigorous physique or stamina. i think the real challenge is to remember, this is a moment, this is perhaps something that is to be expected in the end result of a president who has treated this pandemic as a hoax, has really dismissed it. didn't even flinch when people at his rallies got sick from covid-19. and now has to face the music, and has to face the consequences of coming down with this, while trying to maintain a healthy image to the public and also continue his campaign. how that plays out remains to be seen. >> it's such a dynamic situation. i want to bring in matt dowd again, you said everybody doesn't know how this will play

out. even the campaigns don't know how it will play out. we've just seen an announcement from the biden campaign, they've decided to pull down their negative ads as the president is heading to the hospital. >> i thought about that last night. i thought to myself, that's what i would have done first thing this morning, pull the negative ads. you can tell in his comments today in grand rapids, michigan, he only mentioned the president once, and that was to say i wish him a speedy recovery. never mentioned him, didn't attack him or lambaste him. they need to figure out the tone, pulling the negative ads is a good thing. but what do you do as the presidential re-election campaign? you won't have the principal for any time soon in the midst of this. what kind of ads or campaign will you now push through in the midst of this? and it's important to keep in

mind, this moment comes when joe biden has maintained a significant lead, nationally and in all the key target states, in the aftermath of that first debate. what we're going to see is, this, again, i don't think we know what will happen in the debates or fundamentally the impact on the american public, and what the campaigns will have to figure out how they're going to adjust with this happening in the midst of a covid crisis. >> and rahm, how does the biden campaign strike the balance? the decision was go forward with the campaign event and pull down the ads. will this just be day-to-day decisions? >> yes, it will be day-to-day as events dictate. this is a guess, not only do they pull the negative, i bet you they put their foot to the gas pedal on the health care ad where biden is talking about how personal it is for him. it's not only the negative is down, what is the content of the

positive? and i'll bet you in the rallies, he's continue to wish the president and first lady their personal well-being, and the well-being of the country. and his message about getting covid under control, he'll continue the campaign, and make day-to-day adjustments to the remarks and the schedule, but his core message is, this is about the soul of america. this is about bringing us back together and remembering what binds us as americans. >> and joe biden just sent out a tweet. this cannot be a partisan moment, it's an american moment. we need to come together as nation. >> and everything will finally go -- i wouldn't be surprised if they said, the question is whether they cut another ad that is a little more about america

as a nation. that has been, what people loved about joe through the primary here and the vice president, rather, through the process, his tone and tenor was different than the president. and he will constantly adjust and move towards that safe space that has been his ace in the hole. and they're going to make sure they're never offsides or out of bounds on that effort. and they can never be called for a five-yard penalty here. this can flip quickly on you, and they'll be very -- they'll stay within the lines and always draw in the lines. >> we've just heard from eric trump. donald trump is a true warrior, he will keep fighting the same way he fights for america.

we're coming up on 6:00 p.m. in the east. you're seeing marine one at the white house, preparing to take president trump to walter reed medical center. at 12:54 a.m., the president announced he tested positive for covid. we learned this morning that the president had mild symptoms, but over the course of the afternoon, the situation appears to have become somewhat more serious. the president reported to have a fever, chills, and a cough. also reported to be taking regeneron, an eight-gram dose. the president preparing to go to walter reed medical center perhaps for a few days. jen ashton, talk about the course of the president's illness so far, and what we can expect over the next few days. >> i think the thing is, this virus has shown us that we really can't predict