US President Donald Trump declared that contracting the coronavirus was a “blessing from God” that exposed him to experimental treatments that he promised would be free to all Americans, in a video address posted Wednesday.
Trump, eager to revitalize his ailing re-election campaign two days after his departure from Walter Reed military hospital, repeatedly emphasized how good he has felt so far in his recovery from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. It was unclear if he was still testing positive for the virus.
“I think it was a blessing from God that I caught him. “This was a blessing in disguise,” Trump said, adding that his use of the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc drug had allowed him to experience first-hand how effective Trump could be, who has been widely criticized for a slow response to the pandemic. which has killed more than 210,000 Americans and put its own staff at risk by discouraging the wearing of masks in the White House and on the election campaign, also cited similar drugs from Eli Lilly and Co.
“I want to get what I have for you. And I’m going to do it for free, “Trump said, at one point calling the unapproved drug a” cure. “
The timing of the video recording was unclear. Trump said in the message that he had returned to the White House “a day ago,” suggesting he was speaking on Tuesday. But Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said the video was recorded Wednesday.
The video’s release followed assurances from the White House that the 74-year-old president was back in the Oval Office Wednesday to receive information on the economic stimulus talks and Hurricane Delta.
A White House official said Trump entered the office from the Rose Garden to avoid walking the corridors of the White House and possibly exposing others to the coronavirus.
Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who briefed Trump on personal protective equipment, said the White House kept access to the Oval Office extremely limited.
Trump had been at his White House residence since his dramatic made-for-video return of Walter Reed in a helicopter Monday night.
Trump, who is facing Democrat Joe Biden in the November election, has had no symptoms of Covid-19 for the past 24 hours, his physician Sean Conley said in a statement.
“He has now been fever-free for more than four days, symptom-free for more than 24 hours, and has not needed or received supplemental oxygen since the initial hospitalization,” Conley said.
CAMPAIGN MOOD
Despite his illness, Trump has been looking for ways to spread his election message and cut off Biden’s leadership in battle states, advisers said. His video message appeared to be a step in that direction.
A speech for high-level voters is being planned for Thursday, they said.
Vice President Mike Pence’s debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Salt Lake City will take center stage in the campaign Wednesday night.
Advisers say Trump is eager to get back into the campaign and insists on moving forward with the next debate on Oct. 15 in Miami, but Biden said Tuesday he will not participate if Trump is not virus-free.
The new claim on free drugs came the day after Trump abruptly ended talks with Democrats about a new round of stimulus for a pandemic-hit economy, with the two sides widely separated on how much money to spend on a deal.
Both Biden and the top Democrat in the US Congress, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, accused Trump of abandoning Americans in need.
“The president turned his back on him,” Biden said in a Twitter post.
With layoffs in key industries increasing by the day and threatening the fragile recovery, Trump on Tuesday urged Congress to quickly pass $ 25 billion in funding for passenger airlines, $ 135 billion for small businesses and provide $ 1,200 stimulus checks. for Americans.
But White House officials on Wednesday downplayed the possibility that some kind of stimulus would be passed before the election.
Trump’s push to get Justice Amy Coney Barrett confirmed for the vacant seat on the Supreme Court by the Republican-controlled Senate ahead of the election may also be in doubt, as it is possible that three Republican senators infected with the viruses cannot vote.
COSTLY ABSENCE
A wave of infections in the White House among Trump’s top lieutenants and press aides has left the West Wing struggling to find its footing. At least 19 people close to Trump have tested positive.
Trump has described himself as a man who beat the disease and emerged stronger, telling Americans not to be afraid of Covid-19.
The latest Reuters / Ipsos poll, conducted from Oct. 2-6, found that 38% of adults approved of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, while 56% said they disapproved.
In a withering editorial, the New England Journal of accused US leaders of a staggering degree of failure in the Covid-19 crisis that “turned it into a tragedy.”
Although Trump long challenged experts by upholding the possibility of a vaccine being available before the election, he acknowledged in his video message that a vaccine would come out after the vote due to “politics.”
Advisers say Trump wanted to talk about other issues instead of the virus at this stage in the campaign, to put pressure on Biden. Opinion polls show Trump is down double digits and Biden is down significantly in many swing states.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert, Chris Kahn, Andrea Shalal, Jan Wolf, Makini Brice; Written by Alistair Bell and Phil Stewart; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien, Clarence Fernandez and Grant McCool)
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