Joe Biden Has 'Mild' COVID Symptoms & The 'President Kamala Harris' Tweets Are Popping Off
Biden "will continue to carry out all of his duties."
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. Right: VP Kamala Harris.
The White House says U.S. President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, and some internet users are already wondering if Vice President Kamala Harris might have to step up.
Biden, 79, tested positive on Thursday morning, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
"He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms," Jean-Pierre said. She added that he's started taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug for treating patients who already have the disease.
Biden is isolating at the White House and "will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," she said.
In other words, there's no sign at this point that Harris will have to cover for Biden while he works through the virus.
Nevertheless, the internet erupted with thousands of tweets about a "President Harris" on Thursday, with some Republicans sounding the alarm about the idea even as Democrats encouraged everyone to calm down.
"President Harris has a nice ring to it," wrote one user. "But Biden will be fine."
It's not unusual for a president to briefly hand his power over to his VP for medical reasons. Biden actually did that for a grand total of 85 minutes last year while he underwent a colonoscopy during his annual physical.
That made Harris the first woman to ever hold presidential power in the history of the U.S., although she didn't do anything with it at the time.
Biden is the second president to test positive for COVID-19.
Donald Trump also tested positive in October 2020 and was even hospitalized for treatment, although he did not transfer power to his VP during that time.
Trump tested positive again in late December 2021, during the presidential race that he eventually lost to Biden.