The Latest: Trump Video Tells Supporters ‘Don’t Be Afraid’
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has tweeted a new video taped after he returned to the White House in which he tells the American public not to be afraid of COVID-19, which has killed more than 200,000 people in the U.S. and more than a million worldwide.
In message that is sure to infuriate medical doctors trying to keep the country safe, Trump says he has “learned so much” about the virus he contracted. And he says: “Don’t let it dominate. Don’t let it take over your lives.”
Trump was treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center by a team of some of the country’s best doctors and he received an experimental drug not readily available to the public.
Nonetheless, he told his followers who do not have access to the same level of care that they had little to fear.
“Don’t be afraid of it,” he said. “You’re going to beat it. We have the best medical equipment. We have the best medicines.”
Trump also again defended his decision to continue traveling and holding events before he got sick, saying he “knew there’s danger to it, but I had to it. I stood out front. I led.”
President Donald Trump says he feels “good” as he arrives back at the White House after three days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was being treated for COVID-19.
Marine One landed at the White House just before 7 p.m. Monday just as the sun was setting.
He then walked upstairs to the South Portico balcony, took off his mask and stuffed it in his pocket, and flashed a double thumbs-up to the cameras. He saluted as he watched the helicopter lift back off. He walked into the White House without putting his mask back on.
Trump’s doctors said he would continue his recovery from the White House, where he will be cared for 24/7 by a team of doctors and nurses. His doctor says he's still contagious.
Trump walked out the golden front doors of Walter Reed earlier Monday and offered a thumbs-up and fist bump before he stepped into an SUV that carried him to the helicopter. Lights had been set up to illuminate the scene for cameras.
President Donald Trump pumped his fist as he departed a military hospital after a three-day stay for the coronavirus.
A masked Trump walked out of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday evening toward a waiting SUV that carried him to Marine One for the short flight back to the White House. He said, “Thank you very much,” to the assembled reporters.
Even before he walked out the doors, he tweeted that he'd be back on the campaign trail soon.
The 74-year-old Trump was expected to continue his recovery at the White House, where he will be cared for around-the-clock by a team of doctors and nurses. He announced his coronavirus diagnosis early Friday.
His doctor, Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley, told reporters earlier Monday that Trump remains contagious.
His return comes as the White House is still learning the extent of the outbreak that has sickened over a dozen close contacts of the president over the last week.
Joe Biden says he's glad President Donald Trump appears to have made a swift recovery from the coronavirus, but he notes that “our nation's current crisis is far from over.”
The Democratic presidential nominee made the comment Monday afternoon in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood while campaigning in Florida.
Trump tweeted earlier Monday that he was leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the evening after a three-day stay for the coronavirus. He announced his diagnosis early Friday.
Biden says, “I was glad to see the president speaking and recording videos over the weekend. Now that he’s busy tweeting campaign messages, I would him to do this: Listen to the scientists.”
He also urged Trump to support a nationwide mask mandate in federal buildings, saying he himself backed it months ago.
Biden also says he’s willing to go forward with an in-person debate later this month “if scientists say it’s safe,” even after President Donald Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Speaking to reporters before boarding a flight to campaign in Florida, the Democratic presidential nominee declined to say Monday whether he believes the next presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15, should be virtual.
Instead, he said he would “listen to the science” and that “if scientists say that it’s safe, that distances are safe, then I think that’s fine.” Biden and Trump stood about 10 feet (3 meters) apart during the last debate, though neither wore a mask during the event. Trump tested positive for the virus just two days later and is hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Plans for the second debate are in question following Trump’s diagnosis, and the development has already informed changes to the vice presidential debate. Vice President Mike Pence and Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, will stand 12 feet (3.6 meters) apart, rather than the 7 feet (2 meters) originally planned.
President Donald Trump’s medical team says the president “may not entirely be out of the woods yet” as he heads back home to the White House.
Dr. Sean Conley, the president’s physician, delivered an update on the president's health Monday. Earlier, Trump tweeted that he would be leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday evening after a three-day hospitalization with the coronavirus.
He says Trump “may not entirely be out of the woods yet” but he and the team “agree that all our evaluations and, most importantly, his clinical status support the president’s safe return home, where he’ll be surrounded by world-class medical care.”
Doctors say that he will continue to receive his treatments from the White House.
President Donald Trump says he's leaving the hospital Monday evening after a three-day stay to treat symptoms of COVID-19.
The president tweeted: “I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”
The virus has killed nearly 210,000 Americans.
Trump has been treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center since Friday afternoon.
Trump’s return comes as the White House is still learning of the scale of the apparent outbreak on the complex last week. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tested positive for the coronavirus Monday morning.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says she has tested positive for COVID-19. This comes days after President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.
McEnany says in a statement that she tested positive Monday morning and is experiencing no symptoms at this time. She spoke briefly with reporters Sunday evening, but says that no members of the White House press corps spent enough time around her to be considered close contacts.
She says that she is beginning the quarantine process and “will continue working on behalf of the American People remotely.”
White House officials maintain that President Donald Trump continues to work from the hospital as he battles COVID-19. The White House says the president signed two permits for cross-border petroleum pipeline projects over the weekend, while at his presidential hospital suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Trump signed the permits -- for projects running between Montana and Canada, and Texas and Mexico -- on Saturday, on his first full day at the military hospital.
Trump has boasted of helping to make the U.S. “energy dominant” and has wide campaign support in the oil and gas industry. He has put an emphasis on pushing through oil and gas pipeline projects throughout his administration, including issuing executive orders and seeking to streamline regulations to override objections from states, tribes or others in the path of the pipelines.
White House officials say President Donald Trump is anxious to be released from the hospital as early as Monday, after three nights at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he's being treated for COVID-19.
“This is an important day as the president continues to improve and is ready to get back to a normal work schedule,” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told Fox News on Monday.
Meadows says the determination on whether Trump would leave the hospital won’t be made until later in the day after the president is evaluated by his medical team.
His doctors revealed on Sunday that Trump's blood oxygen level dropped suddenly twice in recent days and that they gave him a steroid typically only recommended for the very sick.