Two of White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s staffers test positive

President Donald Trump arrives at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Maryland, on October 2 on Marine One helicopter after he tested positive for COVID-19. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

CNN obtained a cable sent by the State Department public affairs office on Saturday to embassies around the world providing guidance about what America’s diplomats abroad could say about President Trump being diagnosed with Covid-19, but it gave no guidance about the health status of the President who was at Walter Reed medical center by the time the cable was sent. 

The guidance makes it clear that America’s diplomats are not expected to discuss the specifics about Trump’s health status or the fact that he had been brought to the hospital on Friday night, after receiving additional oxygen after his oxygen levels had rapidly dropped.

The State Department points to one specific quote from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Oct. 2, before Trump was taken to Walter Reed, saying the situation is being taken “very seriously.”

The cable also highlights tweets from Pompeo and the State Department spokesperson, both of which were sent out on Friday morning, and offered prayers to Trump and the first lady but nothing about his medical status. 

“May you both have a quick recovery. Our nation is standing strong with you,” Pompeo said in his tweets.

Many diplomats were only forwarded the guidance from their bosses who received it on Monday when they got to work, a State Department official who received it told CNN.  

A State Department official told CNN that as of Sunday afternoon, diplomatic posts had not received guidance on how to talk about Trump’s condition. The cable sent Saturday does not give details on Trump’s health.

“If you followed what happened over the weekend, there was inaccurate information coming out from the administration anyway, so it is better we didn’t share that with our allies,” said a second State Department official who received the guidance.

 



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