President 'bored' at hospital, not 'out of the woods'

Chief of staff Mark Meadows says he was "very concerned" on Friday.

ByWilliam Mansell, Libby Cathey, and Emily Shapiro
Last Updated: October 4, 2020, 2:56 PM EDT

The mystery surrounding the President Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis and condition deepened Saturday after several rounds of confusing and contradictory information from the White House and the president's medical staff.

Amid the swirl of developments, sources told ABC News that Trump, who remains hospitalized, had been given supplemental oxygen and experienced shortness of breath, a potentially worrisome picture that appeared to contradict both the rosier statements from Trump's doctor and assessments that he was doing well both on Twitter and elsewhere.

Speaking outside Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Saturday, Trump's physician would not offer a clear, declarative statement about whether the president had received oxygen treatment since testing positive.

The press pool was told soon after by a "source familiar with the president's health" that Trump's "vitals over last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care."

The lack of transparency and clarity from the White House contributed to a troubling pattern surrounding the events of the last week, including learning of Hope Hicks' diagnosis by a media leak, as the U.S. faces a potential crisis of governance just a month before the election.

Numerous questions remained including how many people at the highest levels of government had been exposed after a week of events involving the president where social distancing and mask-wearing were lax and the integrity of the testing efforts at the White House and elsewhere.

Since Trump announced he had coronavirus, Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. Ron Johnson, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway have announced they tested positive for COVID-19.

Saturday's headlines:

Here is how the news is developed on Saturday. All times Eastern.
Oct 03, 2020, 10:35 AM EDT

Trump campaign adviser says White House didn't call him for contact tracing following Hicks' positive test

Trump 2020 campaign senior adviser Corey Lewandowski, who attended Wednesday's rally in Minnesota with the president just hours before Hope Hicks tested positive, told ABC's "Good Morning America" Saturday morning that he was not contacted following Hicks' positive diagnosis despite being in close contact. 

"Prior to going into the event everybody had to produce a negative COVID test which they did," he said. "I did not hear from the White House after Hope Hicks tested positive on any type of contact tracing -- but I went and got a test yesterday and had the results come back negative."

Corey Lewandowski on "Good Morning America," Oct. 3, 2020.
ABC

Lewandowski also attended Saturday's Rose Garden event for Judge Amy Coney Barrett and made a point to say how some notable Republicans who have tested positive -- including Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien -- have contracted the virus and were not present then.

"Look, I don't think it's as simple as one event," he said.

Asked if he thinks Trump's tone about masks and White House protocols will change now with the positive diagnosis, Lewandowski defended the White House protocols but said the question is, "What more can we do?"

"I do know that the protocols when you go to the White House require everybody to be tested, whether you're going to see the president or you're going into the West Wing or not. Every person who goes onto that complex is tested when they come onto that complex, and I think that's a smart decision, but we have to ask ourselves, 'What more can we do?'" Lewandowski said.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, also an ABC News Contributor, who helped prepare the president for Tuesday's debate, said he was also not contacted about Hicks positive test but found out through news reports.

Oct 03, 2020, 10:33 AM EDT

Trump debate prep room: Who is positive and who was there?

Now that the president's current campaign manager and a former top White House official have tested positive for COVID-19, attendance at Monday’s debate prep session at the White House has become a common denominator among many. 

Below is a list of who ABC News knows was in the room and their current status. 

IT WAS IN: The Map Room (with some aides moving to the Oval Office after) 

IT HAPPENED: Monday, Sept. 28 at midday

THE ATTENDEES:

President Donald Trump - POSITIVE 
Campaign Manager Bill Stepien - POSITIVE 
Former Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway - POSITIVE
Counselor Hope Hicks - POSITIVE 
Senior Advisor Jared Kushner - NEGATIVE 
Personal Lawyer Rudy Giuliani - NEGATIVE 
Campaign Senior Advisor Jason Miller - NEGATIVE 
Senior Adviser Stephen Miller - TBD 
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie - AWAITING RESULTS

Other aides potentially popped in over the course of the meeting which was in one room but lingered to the Oval Office. 

 ABC News' John Santucci, Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin

Oct 03, 2020, 10:16 AM EDT

Update on the president’s health expected at 11 a.m.

Dr. Sean Conley, physician to the president, will provide an update on the president’s condition at 11 a.m. at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Conley issued statement late Friday night reporting that Trump was “doing very well,” was not requiring any supplemental oxygen and had received the first dose of Remdesivir therapy, an anti-coronavirus drug the president himself has touted in recent weeks.

Oct 03, 2020, 9:05 AM EDT

Another GOP senator tests positive for COVID-19

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has tested positive for COVID-19, per his press team.

He’s the third GOP Senator to test positive since Friday.

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"Senator Johnson was exposed to someone who tested positive for covid-19 on Sept. 14. He stayed in quarantine for 14 days without developing symptoms and tested negative twice during that time. He returned to Washington on Sept. 29 and shortly after was exposed to an individual who has since tested positive. After learning of this exposure, the senator was tested yesterday afternoon. This test came back positive," his office said in a statement.

"Senator Johnson feels healthy and is not experiencing symptoms. He will remain isolated until given the all-clear by his doctor," the statement said.