Former President Barack Obama Tests Positive for COVID-19

Former President Barack Obama tweeted Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, describing mild symptoms.

In a tweet, he said: “I just tested positive for COVID. I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative.

“It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down.”

Obama’s announcement came as many places across the U.S. have reported declining case numbers, hospitalizations, and deaths as the wave caused by the omicron variant fades. Trends reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been downward since February. The CDC also reports that 81.5% of Americans have had at least one does of the coronavirus vaccine, though Obama, who is vaccinated, seems to have what is known as a “breakthrough” case.

In 2020, it was conventional wisdom that then-President Donald Trump had contracted coronavirus because he had been “arrogant and negligent.” However, several other leaders, many of whom have prided themselves on public displays of hyper-caution or support for severe coronavirus restrictions, have since contracted the virus anyway.

Obama drew criticism last year for dancing maskless among the guests at his 60th birthday bash at his Martha’s Vineyard estate, in the midst of the so-called delta wave.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.