On Saturday afternoon, President Donald Trump posted a Twitter update from his stay at Walter Reed Medical Center, insisting that he is “feeling well.” He had been transported to Walter Reed the previous day following a public revelation of positive Coronavirus test results less than 24 hours prior. White House physician Dr. Sean Conley has said that he recommended the transfer to Walter Reed “for further monitoring,” adding that Trump had been administered the antiviral drug Remdesivir while at the facility. An attempted Saturday press conference from Conley didn’t go well — he repeatedly dodged basic questions, like whether Trump had been on supplemental oxygen at any point during his illness.
Conley very specifically not answering whether POTUS has been on oxygen at any point. Two sources close to POTUS tell me his blood oxygen levels dropped yesterday.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 3, 2020
Meanwhile, Trump tweeted (after the press conference controversy emerged):
‘Doctors, Nurses and ALL at the GREAT Walter Reed Medical Center, and others from likewise incredible institutions who have joined them, are AMAZING!!!Tremendous progress has been made over the last 6 months in fighting this PLAGUE. With their help, I am feeling well!’
Doctors, Nurses and ALL at the GREAT Walter Reed Medical Center, and others from likewise incredible institutions who have joined them, are AMAZING!!!Tremendous progress has been made over the last 6 months in fighting this PLAGUE. With their help, I am feeling well!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020
At the time of his Saturday afternoon post, there had been very few public statements attributed to the president since the revelation of his positive Coronavirus test results, and most of the public comments that he did make were related to his diagnosis. After the above tweet, Trump added a post calling on Congress to complete a new Coronavirus-related economic stimulus package.
OUR GREAT USA WANTS & NEEDS STIMULUS. WORK TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020
The Trump campaign has temporarily put all scheduled events that had the president on the bill on hold. On Saturday, he’d been planning to campaign in-person in Wisconsin, but that’s not happening, although the Trump campaign is going ahead with other plans — on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence is slated to host an in-person campaign event in Peoria, Arizona. Past Trump campaign events that have been held in person have repeatedly flouted basic Coronavirus-related public health guidelines like social distancing and masks.
In the past, Trump has repeatedly worked to downplay the threat to the country from the Coronavirus. He has insisted that he did not want to cause panic, but a nationally spreading virus that even affects the president of the United States is worth being seriously concerned about.
Check out Twitter’s response to Trump’s weekend update from Walter Reed below:
