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Image posted, Reuters
Donald Trump was last seen in public on Friday on his way to the hospital
US President Donald Trump’s doctors say he is in “very good” condition at the hospital after he was diagnosed with Covid-19, but his account is in dispute.
Dr. Sean Connelly said the president does not need additional oxygen at this time and has not had a fever in the last 24 hours.
Shortly after Trump’s doctor spoke, the White House chief of staff expressed concern about the president’s condition and said he was not yet on a clear path to recovery.
Trump will face rival Joe Biden in the November 3 presidential election.
Trump’s diagnosis, announced by the president in a tweet early Friday, turned his campaign upside down and cast doubt on his attempt to appoint a new Supreme Court justice before Election Day.
The president is expected to stay at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington, DC, for “a few days,” according to the White House. Dr. Conley said he was “cautiously optimistic” about Trump’s condition, but could not give a timetable for his discharge.
The doctors’ assessment contradicted what Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, told The Associated Press that the president’s vital signs over the past 24 hours had been “very worrying” and that the next 48 hours would be critical.
The president is considered among the highest risk group due to Covid-19 infection, since he is a man, is 74 years old and is classified as obese. So far, he has received injections of a combination of experimental drugs and the antiviral drug remdesivir.
The president later tweeted, “The doctors and nurses and all the wonderful staff at Walter Reed Medical Center, and all the other people who have joined them from similar wonderful institutions, are amazing … With your help, I feel good”.
What else did the doctors say?
Image posted, Reuters
Conley’s comments led to confusion
Speaking at a news conference Saturday morning, Dr. Conley declined to say whether the president had received oxygen support despite being asked about the matter multiple times. He said, “He’s not getting oxygen support right now, and yesterday with the team, when we were all here, he wasn’t getting oxygen.”
Soon after, US media reported that doctors provided the president with additional oxygen at the White House on Friday before deciding to transfer him to the Walter Reed Center. It was unclear if he needed oxygen because he was having difficulty breathing.
Conley also said that some of the president’s symptoms, including a mild cough and nasal congestion, “are disappearing and improving now,” adding: “At this time, the team and I are very pleased with the progress the president has made. “.
There was also some confusion after he said the medical team has been dealing with the president’s illness since he was diagnosed with the injury “72 hours ago.” If confirmed, it indicates that Trump may have attended two major campaign events knowing he was injured.
Later, Conley explained in a statement released by the White House that he intended to say “the third day” instead of 72 hours, and said that the president was diagnosed with Covid-19 for the first time Thursday night.
Conley added that first lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive for the virus and remains in isolation at the White House, was “in very good condition.”
Did those close to the president test positive?
Connelly did not respond to questions about when and where Trump was believed to have been injured. However, the busy event in the Rose Garden last Saturday, in which the president formally announced his candidacy of conservative Amy Connie Barrett to the Supreme Court, has become an intense focus.
Along with the president and the first lady, six other people close to the president have tested positive for the virus. On Saturday, Trump’s campaign adviser and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie became the latest to report a positive test result.
Other people who have tested positive for Trump include his close associate Hope Hicks, who is believed to be the first to exhibit symptoms, and campaign manager Bill Stephen and former White House adviser Killian Conway.
Meanwhile, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the House will postpone its full-session work until Oct. 19, but that work on the Judiciary Committee, which is considering Judge Barrett’s nomination, to be continue.
Trump remains in command. A test showed that Vice President Mike Pence, to whom the president would temporarily transfer power under the Constitution if he became too ill to perform his duties, was not infected.
The president was last seen publicly on Friday night. Before being transferred to the military hospital, he greeted reporters and raised his thumb indicating that everything was fine, but did not say anything before boarding his helicopter.
More like clarity, more confusion
Analysis by BBC North America reporter Anthony Zorker
One might imagine that the purpose of the White House medical team press conference is to reassure the public that the president is in good health and that the nation’s top medical experts are in command. Instead, they create more confusion.
Sean Conley initially said that Trump was diagnosed “72 hours ago,” which means Wednesday morning. That was before the president traveled to Minnesota to attend a campaign rally, and before traveling to New Jersey to collect donations on Thursday, and more than 36 hours before the president revealed his coronavirus diagnosis to the world in a Tweet.
The schedule was further altered after it was revealed that the president had received antiviral treatment 48 hours earlier, also before announcing his infection. All of this required a quick response from the White House. And this was not the only time during the Trump presidency that the White House communications office was forced to issue clarifications on a particular issue.
Conley also tried to paint a positive picture of the president’s current medical condition. A few minutes later, Marc Meadows’ tone was completely different.
And it is important that the White House communicate clearly with the American people and with the world at large, as allies and enemies closely watch the American situation. This is not just a health problem for the president, it is a security problem for the entire nation.
