Trump shows no signs of learning his lesson

(CNN) – President Donald Trump, who woke up at home on Tuesday after spending a weekend in the hospital, shows no signs that his severe coronavirus infection has changed his perception of a disease that has killed more than 210,000 Americans. .

Nor did he show any new understanding of the economic pressure from the Americans. Precisely, on the afternoon of Tuesday, he announced that he had ordered his team to cease all negotiations for a new stimulus package. The move sent the stock market plummeting. It also baffled senior Republicans, who saw little benefit in publicly dismissing the talks.

The image that emerged was that of a president who still profoundly denies health. Additionally, the economic realities of a months-long crisis.

It was an unusual political strategy for a candidate who receives low marks for handling the pandemic. And that he’s had trouble showing empathy for the millions of Americans affected.

I could speak to the nation

On the contrary, Trump noted that he was eager to return to the election campaign. This, despite the virus is ravaging your staff. While also pondering giving a speech to the nation, maybe even later in the day.

“I anticipate that you will hear from him sometime today,” communications director Alyssa Farah, one of the few assistants who came to work in person on Tuesday, told reporters at the White House.

Trump was prepared to record a video Tuesday afternoon from his new workplace in the White House, likely the Diplomatic Room, but has no plans to deliver a live speech, two officials familiar with the plan said.

The atmosphere inside the White House was described by one official as “chaotic,” largely because many people work remotely and the president makes the decisions.

At a time when the West Wing is largely empty because staff continue to test positive, Trump remains isolated at the White House residence. There, temporary offices were installed next to the medical room in the basement of the building.

Trump is focused on the campaign

As he did inside the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Trump has focused decisively on the presidential campaign, which culminates in less than a month. He got bad news on Tuesday when a CNN poll by SSRS showed he was behind rival Joe Biden by 16 points, the widest margin in the contest so far.

«Soon I will return to the campaign !!! The Fake news (fake news) only show the Fake polls (fake polls), ”Trump later wrote. It was not clear what Trump’s return to the campaign would look like. The lingering effects of COVID-19 can leave patients exhausted for months, and it is also unclear how much enthusiasm remains for large, maskless demonstrations after Trump and his inner circle contracted the virus.

Hours later, the president ordered his negotiators to suspend talks on a new stimulus package, which had advanced slowly in recent weeks.

“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election, when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major stimulus bill that focuses on working Americans and small businesses,” Trump wrote.

Trump tweeted this message shortly after a private conference call with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the government’s top negotiator.

The decision to end the talks is a major blow to Americans still struggling with the aftermath of a pandemic. It also jeopardizes an economic recovery that for months was fueled by the initial $ 2.2 trillion stimulus.

Doctors continued to monitor Trump’s vital signs Tuesday and he was expected to receive an intravenous dose of the antiviral remdesivir in the evening. His doctors revealed over the weekend that Trump’s oxygen levels dropped worryingly and that he had required supplemental oxygen.

The president met with a “team of physicians” at the residence on Tuesday morning after a “first night’s rest at home,” his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a statement. “Vital signs and physical examination remain stable, with an ambulatory oxygen saturation level of 95-97%,” he explained.

“Overall, it continues extremely well,” added Conley. “I will provide updates as we learn more,” he assured.

Tuesday No Presidential Health Briefing

Unlike the previous three days, no Conley briefings were scheduled for Tuesday. The doctor has repeatedly refused to answer questions about when Trump last tested negative. Also about how high his fever was or about the results of his lung scan, which he only said were “expected.”

Trump appeared to be breathing hard Monday night after he climbed the steps of the South Portico to pose for the cameras while waving at his Marine One helicopter. A White House official and a separate source close to the White House said Health concerns persist, even after Trump returned home.

“He may not be completely out of the woods yet,” Conley told reporters at Walter Reed on Monday.

However, the president has been active on Twitter, a platform on which he declared that he will attend next week’s presidential debate in Miami. This despite its still uncertain prognosis and the potential that it could still be contagious by then.

“FEELING GREAT!” He wrote in another tweet.

Trump buys back to coronavirus with the flu

And as he did at the beginning of the pandemic, Trump compared the coronavirus to the flu, downplayed its risks and suggested that the country would have to learn to live with them.

“Many people every year, sometimes more than 100,000, and despite the vaccine, die from the flu,” he wrote, echoing the claims he made last spring that were rejected almost immediately by health experts, who say seasonal flu is less deadly than coronavirus.

“Are we going to close our country?” added. “No, we have learned to live with it, just as we are learning to live with covid, in most populations, much less lethal !!!” he said.

It was a shocking message for a man who, 48 hours earlier, declared that he now “understood” the virus after contracting it and suffering from some of its most severe symptoms.

The tweet provided an idea of ​​what Trump’s message might be if he decided to address the nation. An idea that is being seriously considered, according to a White House official.

“He certainly wants to address the nation at some point. But in terms of timing for that, there are certainly no plans as of today, but I think they are always moving fast, so if that changes, we will make sure they know, “said the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, during an appearance on Fox Business. McEnany called the network from her home, where she is convalescing after her coronavirus diagnosis.

Positive cases in the environment of the president

McEnany is one of more than 12 members of Trump’s circle who have tested positive for the coronavirus. This includes his wife, senior adviser, campaign manager, former counselor, personal assistant, two press aides, three Republican senators, and, over the weekend, a military aide with direct access to the president.

Top US General Gen. Mark Milley and several members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were also quarantined after a senior Coast Guard official tested positive for coronavirus, several US defense officials told CNN. .

Trump has offered no indication that he has learned anything from the experience. When he returned to the White House on Monday, he posed for the photo shoot after removing his mask.

In a video recorded later, he said the illness was not a cause for concern.

“Don’t be afraid of it,” Trump said of the coronavirus. You’re going to get over it. We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines, “he added.

The message was poorly received by medical experts and even some of Trump’s allies. They wondered why he was still downplaying a virus that required him to be flown from the White House to a hospital.

“I think he let his guard down, and I think in his desire to try to show that we are somehow getting out of this and that the danger is not yet with us, I think he rushed in,” said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas. , to the Houston Chronicle editorial board.

CNN’s Jim Acosta, Barbara Starr, Joe Johns, Betsy Klein, Manu Raju, Peter Morris and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.