Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway confirmed on Friday that she’s contracted covid-19 after her 15-year-old daughter broke the news in a series of TikToks revealing her mother’s positive diagnosis and denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Tonight I tested positive for COVID-19,” Conway tweeted Friday evening. “My symptoms are mild (light cough) and I’m feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians.”
Earlier that evening, her daughter, Claudia Conway, posted a string of videos on TikTok saying that she was experiencing respiratory issues and that her mother was “coughing all around the house after Trump tested positive for covid.” (Trump tweeted early Friday morning that he and his wife, Melania, had contracted the virus.) A later video, in which she’s seen wearing a face mask, bears the caption “update my mum has covid” and tells her followers that she’s going on a two-week quarantine.
In another video, Claudia Conway, who in the past has been an outspoken critic of both Trump and her mother’s former position on his staff, states: “im furious. wear your masks. dont listen to our fucking idiot president piece of shit. protect yourselves and those around you.”
Her name quickly began trending on Twitter on Friday. The teenager, who has nearly 900,000 followers on TikTok, has previously gained attention for speaking openly about her disputes with her mother and father, Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway, over their polar opposite political beliefs. In August, she tweeted that she would be pursuing legal emancipation. Less than 24 hours later, both her parents announced their resignations from their respective positions, stating that they wanted to focus on family.
Several major political figures have tested positive for covid-19 after attending Saturday’s Rose Garden event where Trump announced his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have since tested positive, as has Notre Dame president John Jenkins, who was spotted without a mask at the event, and Trump’s advisor Hope Hicks. At least three White House reporters also contracted the virus. A Department of Justice spokesperson told MSNBC on Friday that Attorney General William Barr, who was in attendance on Saturday, had tested negative for the virus.
At this rate, it’s been coming clear that Saturday’s gathering has all the makings of a “super-spreading” event, so this likely won’t be the last positive diagnosis we see among attendees there. Since Friday’s announcement, Trump has reportedly been taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre where White House staff say he will remain hospitalised for at least the remainder of the week.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said per NPR. “President Trump appreciates the outpouring of support for both he and the First Lady.”