President Donald Trump‘s personal assistant, Nicholas Luna, is the latest member of the president’s inner circle to test positive for COVID-19, as Bloomberg reported. The publication noted that Luna’s diagnosis emerged a little more than 24 hours after Trump was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Facility after he was said to be experiencing “mild symptoms” related to the illness. Trump took to Twitter early Friday morning to share that both he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.
Luna, who runs Oval Office operations at the White House, is referred to as one of the president’s body men. In his role, Luna is tasked with traveling closely with the president, holding papers, and keeping Trump’s schedule. Luna reportedly accompanied Trump on his trip to Cleveland for the first presidential debate. He was also aboard Air Force One on their trip to Minnesota, which is when Hope Hicks, a top aide to the president, first began experiencing symptoms. It was later confirmed that Hicks had tested positive for COVID-19. The White House had no immediate comment about this news.
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Luna is one of the many individuals connected to Trump who has since been positively diagnosed with COVID-19. In addition to Trump, Melania, Hicks, and Luna, former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Ron Johnson, and former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie have all tested positive for the illness. As previously mentioned, Trump was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Facility on Friday afternoon after he was said to be experiencing “mild symptoms.” However, CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta reported that the situation might be more severe than what the White House has expressed. Acosta spoke to multiple sources, one being a Trump advisor, who shared that the situation is “serious.” They shared that the president has been experiencing fatigue and that he had been having some trouble breathing.
There have been many conflicting reports about the exact state of Trump’s health. So, it’s unclear how the president is truly faring. However, his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, did release a statement in which he noted that the president is not out of the woods yet as far as his battle with COVID-19 is concerned. He said on Saturday, “The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”