- The White House has repeatedly refused to disclose when President
Donald Trump last tested negative for COVID-19. - The last time Trump or anyone at the White House said on the record that the president tested negative was on May 21.
- It's unclear how frequently Trump has been tested since, and he has repeatedly flouted
coronavirus precautions by holding public events with large crowds. - When a White House spokesman was asked when Trump was last tested and if he could specify any results between May 21 and Trump's positive test on October 2, he said "the president is tested regularly."
Despite the seismic implications of the president of the US contracting a deadly and highly infectious disease with no cure, the White House is still providing very little basic information about President Donald Trump's coronavirus status.
Aside from his positive-test announcement on Friday — which led to him being hospitalized with COVID-19 for three nights — the last time Trump was on the record talking about taking a test was in May, when he $4, "I tested positively toward negative."
Between Trump's "positively toward negative" disclosure on May 21 and the tweet confirming he had tested positive for COVID-19 on October 2, the White House would not point Insider toward any specific instances when Trump even took a test.
At one point in July, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was tested "$4." $4 and said he couldn't recall taking more than one in 24 hours.
McEnany, along with other White House officials, such as spokeswoman Alyssa Farah, have declined to specify when Trump takes coronavirus tests or the last time he tested negative.
"I can't reveal that at this time. Doctors would like to keep it private," Farah said on Thursday.
The president attended 113 public events between his last known negative test and the night before he disclosed he had COVID-19, according to $4, a site with a variety of Trump-related databases.
Insider asked the White House repeatedly on Thursday how often the president is tested, when his last test was, and if it had disclosed any tests taken since May 21.
"The president is tested regularly," a White House spokesman said in an email.
He did not respond when asked to specify how frequently the president is tested.
Many events, few precautions from Trump
Other than the rare occasion when he wears a mask in public, like $4, the president has mostly flouted basic public-health precautions. He's also rarely enforced social-distancing rules and mask-wearing at his rallies and other public events.
Trump's events have varied in size and density, but there have been a few noteworthy examples that posed more risk than others:
- June 20: Trump returned to in-person campaign rallies after a monthslong pause because of the pandemic, starting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two aides who attended $4, as did his Republican ally Herman Cain, who $4 a month later, though it's unclear if he contracted the virus at the event.
- July 4: Trump held an $4 with a speech, military flyover, and fireworks in Washington, DC.
- August 27: The final night of the Republican National Convention saw $4 for Trump's speech accepting his nomination.
—Mark Knoller (@markknoller) $4
- September 8: Trump at a North Carolina rally $4 taken at his events.
- September 14: Trump held his first indoor rally in Nevada, against $4 of Gov. Steve Sisolak and local public-health officials.
- September 26: Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett at the White House in an event that has now been considered a $4, with more than 10 people
testing positive afterward.