Poor Don. He was this close to getting away with it.

A day after breaking his White House self-isolation for a cross-country trip meant to signal the country’s readiness to restart, Trump received word that one of his Oval Office valets tested positive for the virus.

Two days later, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary also tested positive, setting off another round of tests, delaying the vice president’s trip to Iowa and causing more hand-wringing inside the White House about who might be infected.

Which didn’t prevent Wee Donnie from going out to say howdy to some WW2 veterans without a mask.

Even the nightly deep cleanings, regular testing and a lot of wishful thinking couldn’t prevent the virus from arriving on Trump’s doorstep.

On account of how that’s not how any of this works. Deep cleanings are fine but they don’t prevent person to person infection.

Mark Meadows, the President’s chief of staff, indicated Friday the new cases had triggered a change in procedures — even though federal guidelines on social distancing were issued months ago and new, more specific recommendations on how to reopen businesses have been held up by the White House.

“I don’t want to get into all the procedures that we have embarked upon,” he said. “But I can tell you this is probably the safest place that you can come to.”

Sure, you can tell us that, but it isn’t true. Obviously it isn’t true. It’s easy to think of places that are far safer than the White House.

A poignant detail:

The military valets responsible for the President’s personal needs are a rare group with access to the food he eats and the Diet Cokes he summons with the push of a red button.

Aw. That red button will never seem so innocent again.