Did Donald Trump Know He Was Symptomatic on Monday, September 28?

Capitol reporter Jamie Dupree's tweet referencing the Sept. 28 White House event pictured above: "Two days after the crowded Rose Garden announcement for Amy Coney Barrett, the White House was suddenly using separate speaking spots for the President and other speakers."

by Thomas Neuburger

What did Trump know and when did he know it? I think it's almost certain that Trump and at least some on his team knew he was contagious on Monday, Sept 28. From a tweet by Capitol reporter Jamie Dupree:

I keep circling back to my tweets from last Monday. Two days after the crowded Rose Garden announcement for Amy Coney Barrett, the White House was suddenly using separate speaking spots for the President and other speakers.

Consider the image above, taken on Monday, September 28. According to Dupree, this distancing of podiums is new for Trump.

Consider two points. First, September 28 was just two days after:

• The Saturday Amy Coney Barrett super-spreader event at the Rose Garden, at which Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Thom Tillis, Chris Christie, Kellyanne Conway, and Fr. John Jenkins appear to have caught the Covid-19 virus;

• An event in Middleton PA that same Saturday, where Trump was accompanied by, among others, Hope Hicks, who would later test positive.

• Several sessions of debate prep on Saturday and Sunday with, among others, Chris Christie, now in the ICU, and Bill Stepien, who has since tested positive, were exposed to the virus;

• A Sunday Gold Star Veterans event at the White House attended by Coast Guard Admiral Charles Ray, who would test positive a week later, as well as by Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Army Gen. James McConville and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, who are so far negative.

What prompted Trump's sudden Monday morning self-distancing? Did he know he was symptomatic on September 28? If he did, it's likely he was infected before the Coney Barrett event and may even have been mildly symptomatic during it.

Second, after Trump's voluntary self-distancing on Monday, he nonetheless took part in the these events:

• A Tuesday evening debate with Joe Biden;

• A Wednesday trip to Duluth Minnesota, on a day that started with Hope Hicks experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 and ended with her self-isolating on the return trip on Air Force One.

• A Trump fundraising event with supporters on Thursday in Bedminster NJ, which occurred after Hope Hicks announced she had tested positive.

Why did he go on these trips, especially the New Jersey fundraiser, which occurred after Hope Hicks was revealed to have tested positive? 

Did He Know as Early as September 28 That He Was a Carrier?

It's likely that at least a few of his advisors, and if so, his doctor as well, knew Donald Trump was symptomatic on Sunday night or Monday morning of the last week of September, if not sooner. This is not certain, of course; it will remain for forensic analysis of the last two weeks of September — who was in contact with whom? who was symptomatic when? what information was withheld from whom? — for any of this to be known for sure.

It's especially important for the following to be determined:

• How often was President Trump being tested, and on what days? 
• When did he become symptomatic? 
• Whom did he tell, if anyone, that he was experiencing symptoms?

But the facts as stated above are clear, and Trump's change in behavior at the White House event on Sept. 28 seems compelling. If he didn't think he was a risk or at risk, why the change in podium arrangements?