Rudy Giuliani tests positive for COVID, Trump says in tweet
Rudy Giuliani, who has led President Trump’s efforts to challenge the outcome of the 2020 election, has tested positive for COVID-19, Trump tweeted Sunday.
“@RudyGiuliani, by far the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and who has been working tirelessly exposing the most corrupt election (by far!) in the history of the USA, has tested positive for the China Virus,” the president tweeted. “Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!”
There has been no evidence of fraud in the 2020 vote, election officials from across the country representing both parties have said. But the president and his allies have continued pushing baseless claims as they’ve attempted to challenge the election outcome in multiple battleground states with lawsuits that have been largely unsuccessful in court.
The Associated Press and other major media outlets projected President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the election Nov. 7. He has 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232. A candidate needs 270 to win.
Giuliani, 76, served as mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001. He’s also served as Trump’s personal lawyer.
The New York Times and ABC News both reported Sunday that Giuliani has been admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center
Sources told NBC News he’s experiencing mild symptoms.
He tweeted Sunday night that he’s “getting great care and feeling good.”
Medical experts expressed concern that Giuliani has spoken without a face mask at a number of legal and legislative hearings across the United States as he argues Trump’s case on the election.
Most recently he appeared maskless at a Thursday meeting with lawmakers in Georgia, NBC News reports.
He’s also held press conferences with the Trump campaign’s legal team and has met with lawmakers in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan.
The Arizona state legislature won’t meet as planned this week due to COVID-19 concerns after Giuliani spent hours testifying in front of Republican lawmakers less than a week before he tested positive, spokespeople for the Arizona House and Senate told The Hill.
“He has potentially exposed hundreds and hundreds of Trump supporters to the virus during his infectious phase,” Dr. Megan Ranney of Rhode Island told CNN. “Our politicians should be doing the right thing…his irresponsible actions have possibly put others at risk as well.”
It’s unclear how Giuliani contracted COVID-19. No further information was available Sunday afternoon.
He’s one of more than a dozen people in the president’s inner circle who have tested positive for the virus in the past few months, according to NPR.
Giuliani’s son, Andrew Giuliani, and Donald Trump Jr., one of the president’s sons, tested positive for the virus in mid-November, along with with several others, according to The New York Times. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and David Bossie, an adviser leading the campaign’s lawsuit efforts, tested positive earlier in the month.
Multiple people in the Trump administration — including Trump and first lady Melania Trump — tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a nomination ceremony for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett at the White House Rose Garden in September.
Giuliani has been exposed to the virus multiple times but had not tested positive until now, The Times reports.
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Rudy Giuliani tests positive for COVID, Trump says in tweet."
