President’s message criticised
Don’t fear virus, Trump says
WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump faced a fresh backlash yesterday for removing his mask when he returned to the White House and urged Americans not to fear the Covid19 disease that has killed more than 209,000 people in that country and put him in hospital.
Trump arrived at the White House in a madefortelevision spectacle in which he descended from his Marine One helicopter wearing a white surgical mask only to remove it as he posed, saluting and waving, on the mansion’s South Portico.
‘‘Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it,’’ Trump said in a video after his return from the Walter Reed Medical Center military hospital outside Washington where he was treated for Covid19.
‘‘I’m better, and maybe I’m immune — I don’t know,’’ he added, flanked by American flags and with the Washington Monument in the background. ‘‘Get out there. Be careful.’’
Trump, who was treated by an army of doctors and received experimental treatment, has repeatedly played down a disease that has killed more than 1 million people worldwide and left his own country with the highest death toll in the world.
The Republican president, running for reelection against Democrat Joe Biden in the November 3 election, was admitted to hospital after being diagnosed with the disease.
Trump has repeatedly flouted socialdistancing guidelines meant to curb the virus’ spread and ignored his own medical advisers. He also mocked Biden at last week’s presidential debate for wearing a mask at events.
His decision to remove his mask after climbing the staircase to the White House South Portico — a perch that put him at some distance from others — and his insistence that Americans should not fear the disease horrified some physicians.
‘‘I was aghast when he said Covid should not be feared,’’ said William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
‘‘This is a disease that is killing around a thousand people a day, has torpedoed the economy, put people out of work. This is a virus that should be both respected and feared.’’
Trump depicted himself as a man who vanquished the disease and emerged stronger.
‘‘If the President bounces back onto the campaign trail, he will be an invincible hero, who not only survived every dirty trick the Democrats threw at him, but the Chinese virus as well,’’ he wrote on Twitter.
Biden quickly hit back on Twitter with sidebyside images of himself donning a mask and Trump removing his. A caption said, ‘‘Masks Matter. They save lives.’’
White House spokesman Judd Deere said every precaution was being taken to protect the president and his family. Physical access to Trump would be limited and appropriate protective equipment would be worn by those near him.
As polls showed Trump slipping further behind Biden, Vicepresident Mike Pence beefed up his campaign schedule, adding stops in the swing states of Nevada and Arizona on Thursday, the Trump campaign announced.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken Friday and Saturday after the president tested positive for the coronavirus found Biden leading Trump by 10 percentage points nationally. — Reuters