WASHINGTON (AP) – Doctors treating President Donald Trump for Covid-19 sent mixed signals about the severity of his condition on Sunday, hours before the president surprised supporters gathered outside the hospital with a makeshift caravan.
Trump, 74, wore a mask as he waved from the back seat of a black SUV that was crawling in a motorcade in front of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, as supporters waved Trump 2020 flags they yelled, “USA! USA!”
Trump, who said Friday morning he had the infectious disease, was quickly criticized for putting the health of support personnel at risk.
It was Trump’s first public appearance since he was evacuated to the hospital on Friday.
“It’s a very interesting trip. I learned a lot about COVID,” he said in a video posted on Twitter shortly before.
Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden tested negative again for the disease that has killed more than 200,000 Americans, his campaign said Sunday. The former vice president, who shared a debate stage with Trump last Tuesday, previously tested negative on two tests on Friday, the day Trump revealed his coronavirus infection.
Doctors said the president was improving, although they were monitoring the condition of his lungs after he received supplemental oxygen. They said he could be sent back to the White House as soon as Monday.
But Dr. Sean P. Conley said the president’s condition had been worse than he previously admitted. Conley said Trump’s blood oxygen levels had dropped in previous days and that he had had a high fever on Friday morning.
When asked what the tests had revealed about Trump’s lung condition, Conley replied: “There are some expected findings, but nothing of great clinical concern.”
Conley’s response suggested that the X-rays revealed some signs of pneumonia, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University.
“The expected finding is that you have evidence of pneumonia on the X-ray. If it was normal, they would just say it’s normal,” Adalja said.
Other doctors who were not involved in Trump’s treatment said there was evidence that his case was serious. Trump is receiving dexmethasone, a steroid used in severe cases of COVID, as well as the intravenous antiviral drug Remdesivir and an experimental antibody treatment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
“It would be highly unlikely that he would be away from home and on the field in less than 14 days,” said Dr. David Battinelli, medical director of Northwell Health in New York.
Administration officials have made conflicting assessments of Trump’s health. Conley and other doctors gave a positive prognosis Saturday, which was quickly undermined by Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
“He was trying to reflect an optimistic attitude from the team and the president about the course of his illness,” Conley told reporters Sunday. “She did not want to give any information that could divert the course of the disease in another direction.”
‘IRRESPONSIBILITY’
Trump spent much of the year minimizing the risks of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected 7.4 million Americans, killed more than 209,000 and triggered an economic recession that has left millions out of work.
He said he had been meeting with soldiers and first responders at the hospital, raising new questions about whether he was now directly exposing others to the disease.
Critics said that personnel who rode in Trump’s armored van during the afternoon motorcade would now have to self-quarantine for 14 days. “The irresponsibility is staggering,” Dr. James Phillips, treating physician at the hospital, said on Twitter.
The White House Correspondents Association objected that journalists had not been briefed on Trump’s passage before it happened.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said the trip was approved by medical personnel and necessary precautions were taken.
Health officials in New Jersey said they were trying to locate more than 200 people who attended a Trump fundraising event at his golf course Thursday. Trump traveled to the event after close adviser Hope Hicks contracted the virus, and only hours earlier announced that she had tested positive.
White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News that Trump tested positive after that fundraiser, not before.
Trump’s illness has changed his re-election campaign as he seeks to defend himself from Biden in the final month of the race. Several members of his inner circle also tested positive for the disease, as well as three Republican members of the United States Senate.
Two members of staff at the White House residence tested positive for Covid-19 a few weeks ago, and Trump’s “body man” assistant Nicholas Luna also tested positive, according to a source familiar with the situation.
THE ‘AGGRESSIVE’ CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
Biden in recent days has wished Trump a speedy recovery, while criticizing his response to the pandemic.
A Reuters / Ipsos poll released on Sunday found that Biden had opened a 10-point lead over Trump nationally, slightly wider than it has been for the past two months. About 65% of Americans said Trump likely would not have been infected if he had taken the virus more seriously, a view supported by half of registered Republicans surveyed. About 55% said they did not believe Trump had been telling the truth about the virus.
The Trump campaign promised that Vice President Mike Pence, who would assume the presidency if Trump could not fulfill his duties, would have an “aggressive” campaign program this week, as would Trump’s three oldest children.
“We can’t stay in our basement or shut down the economy indefinitely. We have to face it head-on,” Trump’s senior campaign adviser Jason Miller said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Pence, who tested negative on Friday, will debate on Wednesday with Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Trump, 74, wore a mask as he waved from the back seat of a black SUV that was crawling in a motorcade in front of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, as supporters waved Trump 2020 flags they yelled, “USA! USA!”
Trump, who said Friday morning he had the infectious disease, was quickly criticized for putting the health of support personnel at risk.
It was Trump’s first public appearance since he was evacuated to the hospital on Friday.
“It’s a very interesting trip. I learned a lot about COVID,” he said in a video posted on Twitter shortly before.
Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden tested negative again for the disease that has killed more than 200,000 Americans, his campaign said Sunday. The former vice president, who shared a debate stage with Trump last Tuesday, previously tested negative on two tests on Friday, the day Trump revealed his coronavirus infection.
Doctors said the president was improving, although they were monitoring the condition of his lungs after he received supplemental oxygen. They said he could be sent back to the White House as soon as Monday.
But Dr. Sean P. Conley said the president’s condition had been worse than he previously admitted. Conley said Trump’s blood oxygen levels had dropped in previous days and that he had had a high fever on Friday morning.
When asked what the tests had revealed about Trump’s lung condition, Conley replied: “There are some expected findings, but nothing of great clinical concern.”
Conley’s response suggested that the X-rays revealed some signs of pneumonia, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University.
“The expected finding is that you have evidence of pneumonia on the X-ray. If it was normal, they would just say it’s normal,” Adalja said.
Other doctors who were not involved in Trump’s treatment said there was evidence that his case was serious. Trump is receiving dexmethasone, a steroid used in severe cases of COVID, as well as the intravenous antiviral drug Remdesivir and an experimental antibody treatment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
“It would be highly unlikely that he would be away from home and on the field in less than 14 days,” said Dr. David Battinelli, medical director of Northwell Health in New York.
Administration officials have made conflicting assessments of Trump’s health. Conley and other doctors gave a positive prognosis Saturday, which was quickly undermined by Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
“He was trying to reflect an optimistic attitude from the team and the president about the course of his illness,” Conley told reporters Sunday. “She did not want to give any information that could divert the course of the disease in another direction.”
‘IRRESPONSIBILITY’
Trump spent much of the year minimizing the risks of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected 7.4 million Americans, killed more than 209,000 and triggered an economic recession that has left millions out of work.
He said he had been meeting with soldiers and first responders at the hospital, raising new questions about whether he was now directly exposing others to the disease.
Critics said that personnel who rode in Trump’s armored van during the afternoon motorcade would now have to self-quarantine for 14 days. “The irresponsibility is staggering,” Dr. James Phillips, treating physician at the hospital, said on Twitter.
The White House Correspondents Association objected that journalists had not been briefed on Trump’s passage before it happened.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said the trip was approved by medical personnel and necessary precautions were taken.
Health officials in New Jersey said they were trying to locate more than 200 people who attended a Trump fundraising event at his golf course Thursday. Trump traveled to the event after close adviser Hope Hicks contracted the virus, and only hours earlier announced that she had tested positive.
White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News that Trump tested positive after that fundraiser, not before.
Trump’s illness has changed his re-election campaign as he seeks to defend himself from Biden in the final month of the race. Several members of his inner circle also tested positive for the disease, as well as three Republican members of the United States Senate.
Two members of staff at the White House residence tested positive for Covid-19 a few weeks ago, and Trump’s “body man” assistant Nicholas Luna also tested positive, according to a source familiar with the situation.
THE ‘AGGRESSIVE’ CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
Biden in recent days has wished Trump a speedy recovery, while criticizing his response to the pandemic.
A Reuters / Ipsos poll released on Sunday found that Biden had opened a 10-point lead over Trump nationally, slightly wider than it has been for the past two months. About 65% of Americans said Trump likely would not have been infected if he had taken the virus more seriously, a view supported by half of registered Republicans surveyed. About 55% said they did not believe Trump had been telling the truth about the virus.
The Trump campaign promised that Vice President Mike Pence, who would assume the presidency if Trump could not fulfill his duties, would have an “aggressive” campaign program this week, as would Trump’s three oldest children.
“We can’t stay in our basement or shut down the economy indefinitely. We have to face it head-on,” Trump’s senior campaign adviser Jason Miller said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Pence, who tested negative on Friday, will debate on Wednesday with Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
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