Get well soon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie urged their U.S. counterparts Friday as the news that Donald Trump and his wife Melania had tested positive for COVID-19 sent shock waves around the world.
"Sophie and I are sending our best wishes to @POTUS Trump and @FLOTUS," Trudeau tweeted. "We hope you both get well soon and have a full recovery from this virus."
Trump himself dropped the bombshell early Friday. Vice-President Mike Pence, who would be first in line to take over on an acting basis should the president be unable to discharge his duties, has tested negative.
"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," Trump tweeted just before 1 a.m.
"We will get through this TOGETHER!"
The revelation electrified Washington, even if it might come as little surprise to anyone familiar with the president's cavalier attitude toward the use of face masks, which experts say is the single best way to block transmission of the virus.
It came just hours after Hope Hicks, a trusted Trump adviser who had travelled extensively with the president throughout the week, tested positive herself.
Media reports early Friday suggest Trump is experiencing "mild symptoms," and appeared lethargic during a fundraising event Thursday in New Jersey.
The fact that the president must now abide by the self-isolation protocols long imposed on people around the world is an ironic development for an administration assailed for what critics consider a haphazard approach to the pandemic.
And it comes with a presidential election just a month away, one in which most polls show Trump trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden, with whom he was seen on the debate stage in Cleveland, distanced but unmasked, just three days ago.
"We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family," Biden tweeted Friday as he, too, offered wishes for a speedy recovery.
The revelations are sparking questions about everything from the first family's true health ⏤ the president is 74, in a high-risk age group ⏤ to how deeply the virus has infected the White House.
CNN reported that Amy Coney Barrett, who was named Saturday as Trump's latest nominee to the Supreme Court during a news conference at the White House, has tested negative.
Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, however, has tested positive, the network said.
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau tested positive for COVID-19 early in the pandemic.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet and his wife, Nancy Déziel, as well as Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole and his wife, Rebecca, also tested positive last month.
"Rebecca and I know firsthand the challenges of COVID-19 and wish @POTUS and @FLOTUS a speedy recovery," O'Toole tweeted.
