Trump says he doesn't remember being tested for COVID-19 before first debate
16 October 2020
President Trump said during a town hall event aired on NBC News Thursday that he does not recall being tested for the coronavirus before the first presidential debate on Sept. 29.
Why it matters:The president tested positive for the virus on Oct. 2, just three days after standing onstage with former Vice President Joe Biden. The Commission on Presidential Debates requires that candidates test before the event.
What he's saying: "I don't know, I don't even remember. I test all the time," Trump said after "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie asked whether he had been tested on the day of the debate.
- "I can tell you this, after the debate — like, I guess, a day or so — I think it was Thursday evening, maybe even late Thursday evening I tested positive. That's when I first found out"
- Trump did not specify when exactly he tested negative before contracting the virus and noted he does not get tested everyday. He also told Fox Business earlier on Thursday that he's tested for the coronavirus "a lot," but "not every day."
The big picture: The White House has relied heavily on testing as a protective measure against the virus, but critics started raising questions about that strategy after the president, staffers, members of the press corps and members of the Trump family tested positive earlier this month.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.