A Personal Valet to Trump Tests Positive for COVID

White House says president, VP are still in the clear
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 7, 2020 11:20 AM CDT
One of Trump's Personal Valets Tests Positive
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.   (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

A US Navy member who serves as one of President Trump's personal valets has tested positive for the coronavirus, reports CNN and Politico. The White House confirmed the diagnosis of a military member who works at the White House, though not that it was one of the president's valets. "We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus," deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who have been undergoing weekly tests, "have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health," Gidley adds.

It's unclear when Trump was last in contact with the US Navy member, who began exhibiting symptoms Wednesday morning. White House valets are part of an "elite military unit" who frequently work in close proximity to the first family, explains CNN. The valet is the second known person who works at the White House to test positive for COVID-19, per the Hill. A staffer in Pence's office contracted the virus back in March. Trump is not a fan of wearing face masks, and the AP reports he has told confidants that he fears wearing one will backfire on him in political ads. (More coronavirus stories.)

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