Trump admits exposing Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to Covid-19: 'He didn't care. He's from North Carolina'

‘Could you imagine, I had to go to North Carolina to find my chief of staff?’ president says in apparent jab at key swing state

Donald Trump admitted to exposing his chief of staff to coronavirus by allowing Mark Meadows to fly with him to Walter Reed military hospital two weeks ago.

“He followed me. I said, you know what? ‘I just tested positive,’” the president told a rally crowd in Meadows’ home state. “He didn’t care. He’s in that helicopter. Hey, he’s from North Carolina.”

Mr Meadows did wear a mask on 5 October when he accompanied the president to the military hospital on the 15-minute flight to the nearby medical facility. He also stayed the entire weekend with the president. He was photographed outside as the medical team briefed reporters wearing a mask.

The president made the remark during a campaign rally in North Carolina, a battleground where he is in a dead heat with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden after winning the state in 2016.

But he appeared to take a shot at the Tar Heel State and its residents.

"Could you imagine, I had to go to North Carolina to find my chief of staff?" he said with a smirk.