WASHINGTON – Hours after President Donald Trump revealed Friday that he and his wife tested positive for the novel coronavirus, it was learned Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel of Michigan has tested positive as well.
Ronna McDaniel Slammed On Twitter For Claiming Joe Biden Will Raise Taxes For 82% Of Americans. By Lauren Dubois @ldubois613 10/17/20 AT 1:48 PM. The Republican National Convention Chairwoman. Ronna McDaniel’s Twitter feed tells you what the polls are missing. 1 day ago Ronna McDaniel Considering Run Against Whitmer in 2022Republicans are gearing up to challenge Governor Whitmer in the 2022 election. RONNA McDANIEL: As our country is divided, like we've never been before, rhetoric matters. And she hasn't had her Twitter account suspended, yet her rhetoric is divisive, and it is hurting our country. The Republican Party has no place for white supremacists, that is very clear. We have made that very clear. 38,505 likes 1,652 talking about this. Chairwoman, Republican National Committee.
Messages to the Republican National Committee from the Free Press were not returned but a committee official confirmed McDaniel's positive test to USA Today. McDaniel's positive test was first reported in a Twitter post by the New York Times' Maggie Haberman.
According to Haberman's tweet, McDaniel of Northville tested positive on Wednesday. She apparently has been in Michigan since last weekend. An RNC official told USA Today that she got tested after a family member tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
© Hannah Ruhoff Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel talks to the press during a Women for Trump Rally at Hamilton County Trump Campaign Headquarters in Norwood on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020.Haberman said McDaniel has mild symptoms and was last with the president a week ago.
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McDaniel, 47, self-quarantined in her home back in March after coming down with flu-like symptoms though tests taken at that time came back negative for COVID-19 virus.
Unlike that earlier time, however, no public mention was made of McDaniel's quarantining until it was reported Friday, almost a week after it began. Friday morning, McDaniel tweeted good wishes to the president and first lady but made no mention of her own positive test.
Wishing @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump a speedy recovery.
We are praying for you! https://t.co/VNFKhJRlKu
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) October 2, 2020Others noted she also did a remote appearance on Fox News on Thursday but didn't reference her testing positive.
Kinda wild: Ronna McDaniel got diagnosed with covid on Wednesday, then yesterday did a remote Fox hit where she didn’t mention it whatsoever. pic.twitter.com/UbflPMySrV
— Ian Sams (@IanSams) October 2, 2020The Michigan Republican Party also confirmed that McDaniel took part in one day of a multiday bus tour in the state but that it was more than a week before she tested positive and that no one else on the tour has come down with symptoms.
McDaniel has been strongly supportive of Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, even as the president has been widely criticized for downplaying the risks, urging businesses and schools to reopen, and, at times, disparaging mask wearing. Last month, McDaniel said on NBC's 'Meet the Press': 'The president was calm and steady in a time of unrest and uncertainty. And I think history will look back on him well as to how he handled this pandemic.'
More than 207,000 Americans have died of complications from the virus since March. The U.S. death toll is higher than that reported by any other country. In Michigan, more than 126,000 cases have been reported and more than 6,700 people have died.
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A mother of two, McDaniel is the granddaughter of the late Michigan Gov. George Romney and the niece of U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Prior to being the Republican National Committee chairwoman, she was chair of the Michigan Republican Party.
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Contact Todd Spangler at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Republican Chair Ronna McDaniel tests positive for COVID-19, quarantining in Michigan