The White House has given New Jersey health officials a list of at least 206 people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus at a fundraiser event attended by President Trump in Bedminster last week, the state's department of health tweeted Sunday.
Why it matters: The president has come under criticism for choosing to attend the event at the Trump National Golf Club on Thursday even after close aide Hope Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus.
Republicans are hoping less-concentrated youth voter turnout on campuses that are closed or scaled back this semester can help them from Maine to Florida — in congressional races as well as Trump’s fight.
The big picture: The coronavirus will hinder both parties' ability to mobilize new voters on college campuses this year, but Democrats may be disproportionately affected.
President Trump’s hospitalization has changed the game plan for Sen. Kamala Harris for Wednesday's debate.
Between the lines: Harris was preparing to tie Vice President Pence to Trump — then shred Trump on the pandemic, health care, the Supreme Court, civil rights and more. She had planned a handful of anti-Trump zingers. Now, her approach will be less personal, although she won't shy away from the pandemic — or arguing that Pence owns Trump's record.
The Biden campaign’s new plan after Trump’s diagnosis is the old plan, sources tell Axios: Protect the candidate. Stay the course. No mistakes.
What to watch: Biden and Harris still plan to fly to Arizona on Thursday, but they're traveling from different locations on separate planes. Biden will head to South Florida for an MSNBC town hall on Monday.
White House physician Sean Conley said at a press briefing Sunday that President Trump experienced two "transient" episodes in which his oxygen saturation level dropped below 94% and that he received supplemental oxygen on Friday after registering a "high fever."
Why it matters: Conley repeatedly evaded questions at Saturday's press briefing about whether Trump had received oxygen and insisted that the president was doing "extremely well."
White House communications director Alyssa Farah said Sunday that White House physician Sean Conley withheld specific details at Saturday's press briefing about Donald Trump's medical condition in order to "convey confidence" and "raise the spirits" of the president.
Driving the news: Conley and the White House have come under intense criticism after Chief of Staff Mark Meadows provided an anonymous statement to reporters on Saturday saying that Trump had a "very concerning" period on Friday, contradicting the more rosy assessment Conley had provided in a television briefing just moments earlier.
Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that Vice President Mike Pence is "not in the clear" from getting the coronavirus.
Why it matters: Pence is expected to hit the campaign trail hard later this week, even as President Trump is in Walter Reed Medical Center for COVID-19 treatment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Sunday she is receiving health updates on President Trump, who is in the hospital with the coronavirus, through the media and not through official briefings or contact with the White House.
Why it matters: Pelosi is second in the line of succession behind Vice President Mike Pence.
President Trump handing the powers of the presidency to Vice President Pence is "not something that's on the table at this point," White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
Driving the news: The president "feels very well" and will remain at Walter Reed hospital, where he has been since Friday, for "at least another period of time," O'Brien said.
Seven aides to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have asked federal authorities to investigate their boss, alleging "improper influence, abuse of office, bribery, and other potential criminal offenses," the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Details: A letter, dated Oct. 1 and signed by the seven aides, does not contain specific allegations, but it is a significant complaint coming from Paxton's closest deputies.
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to President Trump's re-election campaign, argued on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that Joe Biden has often "used the mask as a prop" and defended the campaign's handling of the coronavirus even as Trump remained in the hospital with a COVID-19 diagnosis.
Why it matters: Trump has rarely worn a mask in public and often downplayed its usefulness. A large coronavirus outbreak in the White House has infected over a dozen people in Trump's inner circle, including many who attended a Rose Garden celebration to announce Amy Coney Barrett as the nominee for Supreme Court Justice. Photos of the event show hardly anyone wearing a mask.
It's easy to dog the media. But stop for a second and reflect on everything we know thanks to the media — and often the media alone.
Driving the news: It was the media that gave light to the negligence of White House officials in containing the coronavirus. It was Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs who revealed Hope Hicks' positive test, with President Trump disclosing five hours later that he and the first lady had COVID.
Joe Biden's national lead against President Trump has widened to double digits with a month to go until Election Day, according to a pair of polls out Sunday.
By the numbers: Biden has the support of53% of registered voters in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, while 39% support Trump. Meanwhile, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Biden with a 51%-41% lead over Trump — the widest gap that survey has found in a month.
Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes defended President Trump's family after they broke Cleveland Clinic rules by declining to wear masks at last week's presidential debate, saying on "Fox News Sunday" that "we believe in masks, but we also believe in some element of individual choice."
The backdrop: First lady Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and several guests entered the debate hall with masks on but took them off after being seated — a violation of the rules that both campaigns had agreed to. An official from the Cleveland Clinic offered the family masks but was waved away.
Just 1 in 10 Republicans says President Trump is handling his own COVID-19 diagnosis irresponsibly, according to a SurveyMonkey snap poll for Axios after he disclosed testing positive.
Why it matters: If these findings hold, it suggests that as unsettling a moment as this is — and for all the questions it's raised about Trump's commitment to public safety or the well-being of supporters and staff — he may not pay a price inside his own party with a month left in the election.
South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison faced off against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) from behind a plexiglass barrier at Allen University during a fiery first debate on Saturday night.
Why it matters Graham and Harrison are tied 48%-48% in the Senate election, per a Quinnipiac poll out last Wednesday. The race could be pivotal in deciding which party controls the Senate, Axios' Fadel Allassan notes.
"Saturday Night Live" addressed the "elephant in the room," President Trump's coronavirus diagnosis, in host Chris Rock's opening monologue and in the cold open during the show's premiere episode of Season 46.
Driving the news: Rock joked, "President Trump’s in the hospital from COVID and you know, I just want to say my heart goes out to COVID." Meanwhile in the cold open, Jim Carrey as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden spoke of "science and karma."
President Trump's campaign is taking over the YouTube masthead for 24 hours from midnight Sunday as he continues to be treated in the hospital for the coronavirus, Fox News first reported and Axios can confirm.
Why it matters: The YouTube masthead is prime online real estate. Axios understands that the cost of the purchase is in the seven figures.The announcement comes after the Trump re-election campaign launched "Operation MAGA" to "rally behind the president and carry the campaign forward" while Trump is sidelined with COVID-19.
The White House released images Saturday night of President Trump working from the Walter Reed Medical Center, hours after a video message was posted from his Twitter account in which he said he's "starting to feel good."
Why it matters: There have been conflicting reports on the state of Trump's health since it was announced Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump were diagnosed with the coronavirus. The timeline on when he fell ill is also unclear.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox News Saturday night that officials were "concerned" about President Trump's condition after he was diagnosed with the coronavirus, but he's now "doing well."
Why it matters: There have been conflicting reports from the White House on Trump's condition. Meadows' remarks come after White House physician Sean Conley said Saturday that Trump "remains fever-free and off supplemental oxygen," but that the president is "not yet out of the woods."
White House physician Sean Conley said in a statement Saturday night that President Trump is "not yet out of the woods," but the medical team "remains cautiously optimistic" about his condition following his coronavirus diagnosis.
Why it matters: There have been conflicting reports on the state of his health. "He remains fever-free and off supplemental oxygen with a saturation level between 96% and 98% all day," Conley said, without clarifying whether Trump had been given oxygen, adding to the ambiguity surrounding the president's condition. Trump said in a video message from hospital earlier Saturday that he's "starting to feel good"
