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US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump briefly left the hospital in a car to greet supporters after his doctors said he could be discharged today.
The president’s trip came shortly after he promised his followers “a surprise” in a video posted on Twitter.
“It has been a very interesting journey,” Trump said in the video.
“I learned a lot about Covid. I really learned it by going to school. This is the real school. This is not the school where we are going to read the books. And I understand it, and I understand it. And it’s very interesting. “
But at least one medical professional inside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Trump has been treated since Friday night, questioned whether he had really learned anything.
“Every person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary presidential ‘step’ now has to be quarantined for 14 days,” said Dr. James P. Phillips, Walter Reed’s GP, tweeted.
They can get sick. They may die. For political theater. Sent by Trump to put their lives at risk for the theater. This is crazy.
Not only is that presidential SUV bulletproof, it’s hermetically sealed against chemical attack. The risk of Covid-19 transmission indoors is as high as outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is amazing. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play.
Yesterday, Trump’s doctor said the president’s blood oxygen level suddenly dropped twice in recent days, but has “continued to improve” since then.
Dr. Sean Conley’s update added a new layer of confusion to the president’s fight with Covid-19, as he also suggested that Trump could be discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as early as today.
Trump’s doctors, speaking on the steps of the military hospital where he was being treated for the third day in a row, declined to reveal the specific time of the president’s immersion in oxygen or whether lung scans showed any damage.
Dr. Conley acknowledged that he was trying to minimize the severity of the president’s condition the day before.
“I was trying to reflect the optimistic attitude of the team, that the president, who has had his course of illness. I did not want to give any information that could divert the course of the disease in another direction, “said Dr. Conley.
And by doing so, it seemed like we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true. The fact is that he is doing very well.
Dr. Conley said the president had a “high fever” and a blood oxygen level below 94% on Friday and during “another episode” on Saturday. He was evasive when asked if Trump’s level had dropped below 90%: “We don’t have any recording here on that.”
The level is currently 98%, Trump’s medical team said.
Donald Trump supporters gather in front of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda
Source: AP / PA Images
Trump offered his own assessment of his condition the night before in video from his hospital suite, saying he was beginning to feel better and hoped “to be back soon.”
And he returned to social media early yesterday morning, sharing a video of supporters waving flags, most without masks, gathered outside the medical center.
Trump is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk for serious complications from a virus that has infected more than seven million people nationwide and killed more than 209,000 people in the United States.
First lady Melania Trump, who is 50, remained in the White House to recover from her own attack with the virus.
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When did Trump get a positive test result?
The Trump administration has not been as transparent to the public during the pandemic, both about the president’s health and about the spread of the virus within the White House.
The first word that a close associate of Trump had been infected came from the media, not the White House. And aides have repeatedly refused to share basic health information, including a full account of the president’s symptoms, tests that have been performed and results.
Dr. Conley declined to say when Trump had last had a negative test before announcing he had Covid-19 late Thursday. It initially suggested that Trump was 72 hours after diagnosis, which would mean he was confirmed infected on Wednesday. Dr. Conley later clarified that Trump was administered an accurate test for the virus on Thursday afternoon.
At the same time, the White House has been working to track a series of new infections from Trump aides and close allies. The focus is in particular on the September 26 White House event in which Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court was introduced.
That day, Trump gathered more than 150 people in the Rose Garden, where they mingled, hugged and shook hands, overwhelmingly without masks. There were also several indoor receptions, where Trump’s Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett, his family, senators and others spent time indoors in the White House, photos show.
Among those who attended and now tested positive are: former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, the president of the University of Notre Dame and at least two Republican politicians.
The White House has said that Trump was expected to remain in the hospital for “a few days” and that he would continue to work from his presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to fulfill his official duties.
On Saturday, Dr. Conley said that in many cases, Covid-19 can become more dangerous as the body responds. “The first week of Covid, and in particular days seven to ten, are the most critical in determining the likely course of this disease,” he said.
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