Donald and Melania to self-isolate in White House: What does that mean?

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Donald and Melania Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis caused more questions than answers after the news broke overnight, none more so than what their lockdown would look like inside the White House.

With less than a month until November’s election takes place, the US president posted a statement to Twitter saying “we will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”

What Mr Trump meant with the phrase “TOGETHER!” is contestable, provided that their lives are largely separated inside the White House, where they will spend the next two weeks.

In many ways, a White House coronavirus lock down might be no different to an ordinary 24 hours at home, where an unplanned walk on the lawn would risk a perimeter shut down.

But Ms Trump's long-term detachment to the 55,000 square complex, where windows cannot be opened without permission from the Secret Service, is well known.  

She has lived there since June 2017, when the Slovenian-born first lady broke with precedent by moving-in five months after her husband’s inauguration took place that January.

Whilst this week, it was revealed she once complained about her duties inside the White House, saying "who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?"

Reporting on speculation about the couple’s existence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, CNN correspondent Kate Bennett alleged that most rumours were true, in a book published last December, and reported by Business Insider.

The reporter documented how president Trump, who married the then-model in 2005, sleeps alone in the master bedroom on the White House’s second floor.

Ms Trump, meanwhile, was said to have her own separate space on the third floor, which incorporates a suite of rooms where she prefers to spend her time.

She uses a bedroom whose previous occupant was Marian Robinson, the mother of former first lady Michelle Obama during the previous administration.

Ms Trump’s privacy at the White House reportedly extends to a personal beauty space and a private gym area, according to Ms Bennett, who noted how the Trumps have been the first couple since the Kennedys and the Johnsons to use separate bedrooms at the White House.

On that basis, when the president and his wife stop isolating in two weeks time, they may not notice the difference - aside from having an election campaign to get on with.