Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski defended Vice President Pence for campaigning after his chief of staff tested positive for COVID-19, noting that Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), the Democratic vice presidential nominee, continued to campaign for her ticket after a staffer tested positive.
“I’m sure he’ll do what’s necessary and what’s appropriate,” Lewandowski said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” referring to Pence. “We’ve also seen Kamala Harris’s team, members of her team, come down with COVID, and she took the necessary precautions.”
“So, let’s see where this goes, but I have not spoken to the team directly on that,” he said regarding whether Pence will self-quarantine.
Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, tested positive for COVID-19, making him the latest White House official to contract the disease and the second person close to Pence whose case became public on Saturday.
Short is one of three top aides to Pence who have tested positive in the last week or so. More broadly, the White House has been hit with a large number of positive COVID-19 cases. President Trump himself was hospitalized earlier this month.
Liz Allen, the communications director for Harris, tested positive earlier this month. Harris did cancel some planned travel up to Oct. 18, but the Biden campaign noted that Harris had not been in close contact with Allen or one other aide who tested positive.
Short, in contrast, as Pence’s chief of staff, is a part of the vice president’s inner circle.
Pence has tested negative for COVID-19 but is not self-quarantining as the presidential race heads into its final week.
Updated at 11:45 a.m.