White House cluster has Donald Trump ‘spooked’ as world watches cases grow

The situation at the White House has the President taking extreme measures while his top advisers admit it’s “scary to go to work” and “a bit risky”.

President Donald Trump is putting on a brave face but administration officials say he is spooked by a growing cluster of virus cases at the White House – and he’s not the only one.

Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Katie Miller, one of the President’s personal valets, tested positive to coronavirus on Friday morning after previous tests returned negative results, including a test she took the previous day.

Stephen Miller, one of Mr Trump’s closest advisers, is Ms Miller’s husband.

As the death toll in the US climbs to nearly 80,000 and infections surpass 1.3 million, Mr Trump is becoming increasingly isolated in the West Wing.

Kevin Hassett, one of Mr Trump’s top economic advisers, was particularly frank when speaking to CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.

Related: Follow the latest coronavirus updates

US President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with military leaders and his national security team on Friday. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

“It is scary to go to work,” he said. “I think that I’d be a lot safer if I was sitting at home than I would be going to the West Wing.

“It’s a crowded place. It’s, you know, it’s a little bit risky. But you have to do it because you have to serve your country.”

The New York Times spoke with several White House senior officials who painted a picture of chaos within the White House.

They said the President was spooked by the fact that Ms Miller had been serving him food without wearing a mask – though Mr Trump himself still refuses to do so.

The Times wrote Mr Trump was “annoyed to learn that Ms Miller tested positive and has been growing irritated with people getting too close to him”.

The President has brushed aside advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wear a mask when meeting with groups of people, the Times reported.

It comes as former president Barack Obama publicly levelled criticism at his successor’s handling of the pandemic.

Mr Obama said the situation in the US under Mr Trump is “an absolute chaotic disaster” and that a mindset of “what’s in it for me” had infiltrated government, according to Yahoo News, which obtained a recording of Mr Obama’s comments.

Donald Trump is ‘spooked’, according to White House officials. Picture: Evan Vucci/AP

The three senior White House officials forced into quarantine include Dr Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Dr Fauci’s institute said that he has tested negative for COVID-19 and will continue to be tested regularly.

It added that he was considered at “relatively low risk” based on the degree of his exposure, and that he would be “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to personal contacts while still carrying out his duties.

While he will stay at home and telework, Dr Fauci will go to the White House if called and take every precaution, the institute said.

Dr Redfield will be “teleworking for the next two weeks” after it was determined he had a “low-risk exposure” to a person at the White House, the CDC said in a statement on Saturday evening. The statement said he felt fine and had no symptoms.

– With AP