November 12, 2020
One of President Donald Trump’s senior campaign advisors, Corey Lewandowski, has tested positive for COVID-19, The New York Times reported on Thursday. Lewandowski is now the latest person in Trump’s circle to recently test positive for the virus after Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson both tested positive earlier.
A White House correspondent for The Times, Maggie Haberman, tweeted the breaking news around noon on Thursday, saying: “NEW – Corey Lewandowski, Trump adviser who’s been working on efforts to bring lawsuits alleging illegal election activity in specific states, tested positive for COVID yesterday per a person briefed. Lewandowski had been in Philly for days and believes he contracted it there.”
Haberman then added that Lewandowski “was at the White House election night party, but tested positive eight days later.”
Lewandowski also confirmed the diagnosis with CNN, with its Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta tweeting about it.
“Corey Lewandowski has tested positive for covid, he confirms. He says he feels fine and will be staying home,” Acosta wrote.
As mentioned by Haberman, Lewandowski has been part of the Trump campaign’s effort to bring lawsuits to swing states where they allege election misconduct and voter fraud occurred. It is not certain yet what effect his diagnosis could have on these ongoing legal battles.
Back in early October, a massive wave of Trump administration officials and other figures in Washington, DC—including the president, First Lady Melania Trump, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, advisor Hope Hicks, Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and many more—all contracted the virus. It is widely believed that these individuals contracted after they all attended the same event on September 26, the ceremony where Trump announced then-Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee.
This time around, as Haberman brought up, the event that people suspect this new batch of positive tests originated from was the Trump campaign’s Election Night party at the White House eight days ago.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
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