VIRUS-HIT TRUMP IN HOSPITAL
DonalD Trump was being taken to hospital last night f ollowing his diagnosis for coronavirus.
Officials said doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre will be able to give him immediate treatment if necessary.
He is expected to stay there for a ‘ few days’ and will work from the Maryland hospital’s presidential suite.
His doctor Sean Conley said Mr Trump ‘was fatigued but in good spirits’ and his wife Melania, who has also tested positive, has a ‘mild cough and headache’.
Mr Conley added the US President was being treated with an experimental drug aimed at supplying antibodies to help fight his infection.
A single- dose treatment through an intravenous drip, it has been developed by the company behind a successful treatment for ebola using a similar approach.
Last night the White House denied it had
mounted a cover-up over Mr Trump’s Covid diagnosis. His administration disregarded a senior aide testing positive for Covid, allowing him to attend a crucial election fundraiser on Thursday.
Mr Trump, who has downplayed the pandemic that has killed 205,000 of his people, is said to have come into contact with at least 100 staff and supporters during the event at his New Jersey golf club. He also reportedly failed to wear a mask there, or while travelling.
The President was flown back to the White House afterwards and within hours revealed he was infected. The aide, Hope Hicks, tested positive the previous night after accompanying Mr Trump to a rally on Wednesday. The White House admitted that the President was informed of her diagnosis before he travelled to the fundraiser.
Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany insisted officials had deemed it safe for Mr Trump to attend the event – held both indoors and out – although she did not specify who it was safe for. ‘It was deemed safe for the President to go,’ she said. ‘He socially distanced, it was an outdoor event and i t was deemed safe by White House operations for him to attend.’
John Bolton, Mr Trump’s former security adviser, told Sky News the White House had yet to reveal ‘the full story’. He said: ‘ They are in panic, frankly. We still don’t know all the circumstances by which Hope Hicks, a very trusted aide of the President, was first tested positive. The White House did not make that public itself, it was a story broken by a White House reporter.’
Despite aides saying Mr Trump was in ‘ good spirits’ and able to attend to his workload, he last night pulled out of a conference call with senior citizens, his only scheduled engagement of the day.
It was announced that all forthcoming public events would be cancelled or moved online. Mr Trump’s wife Melania also tested positive and the White House doctor said they both had mild symptoms.
As the hunt began for anyone that Mr Trump, the First Lady or Miss Hicks may have infected, it was announced at least two people at the White House – a journalist and a press officer – had also tested positive. Last night there were reports that the embattled leader was planning to give a TV address to reassure the country about his health and make clear he remained at the helm.
There were fears in Congress yesterday that hostile states – especially Iran, which has pledged revenge for the assassination of a general – may exploit the moment for a strike against the US.
Financial markets were rattled when Mr Trump delivered news of his diagnosis in a late-night tweet.
At 74 and medically obese, he is at high risk from the worst effects of Covid. Experts say his main priority is rest but he is famously hyperactive and prone to ignoring medical advice.
Mr Trump’s political future now hangs i n the balance, having staked the election on November 3 the idea that the worst of the pandemic is over. He had repeated this cl ai m j ust hours before he announced he had been infected.
Polls give Democrat rival Joe Biden a convincing lead and show that voters’ biggest complaint against Mr Trump is his handling of coronavirus.
Although the British public rallied around Boris Johnson when he contracted the virus, Mr Trump is rather less likely to garner a sympathy vote from a country that widely blames him for greatly exacerbating the death toll. His infection also puts paid for the forseeable future to the frenetic schedule of mass rallies that have been the centrepiece of his re-election campaign.
Mr Biden, who was just feet from Mr Trump on stage at a presidential debate on Tuesday, tested negative for coronavirus yesterday.
Last night he was due to continue on the campaign trail, with engagements in Michigan.
Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka, son Barron and son-in-law Jared Kushner also tested negative, as did vice-president Mike Pence who would automatically take over if he became incapacitated.
Democrats joined world leaders, including Mr Johnson, in expressing sympathy for the Trumps but the President’s opponents could not hide some pleasure in the fate of a man who has been so cavalier about coronavirus.
Democrat House speaker Nancy Pelosi said: ‘This is tragic. It’s very sad. Going into crowds unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen.’ She said she hoped it would be a learning experience for Mr Trump and the country, given his refusal to take precautions against the virus.
Democrat senator Sherrod Brown said the President owed it to the Americans who have died in the pandemic to cancel his ‘superspreader rallies’.
Mr Trump, who initially refused to be photographed wearing a mask and has often been seen not wearing one, has been instrumental in
‘Cavalier about coronavirus’
turning mask-wearing into a political issue rather than a safety one.
His packed rallies are filled with supporters standing shoulder to shoulder not wearing masks in a show of defiance against health officials that Mr Trump has frequently disparaged and contradicted.
Members of the Trump family wore face coverings when they arrived for the presidential debate but took them off when seated, the only people in the audience to do so. The White House said the President was informed on Thursday morning that Miss Hicks, his f ormer chief spokesman, had tested positive before he flew by helicopter to New Jersey for the indoor fundraiser.
Witnesses cl ai med he was ‘lethargic’ at the event. Unusually for the energetic Mr Trump, he had also reportedly fallen asleep on Air Force One on the way back from a rally in Minnesota the previous night.
Miss Hicks had travelled with Mr Trump on another Air Force One flight on Tuesday and emerged from the plane not wearing a mask. By the time she flew back with Mr Trump from the Minnesota rally on Wednesday she was reportedly feeling unwell.
However, a health expert said the timing suggested the President was not infected by Miss Hicks and both of them had caught the virus from someone else. The aide is likely to have been infectious before testing positive.
Mrs Trump tweeted yesterday: ‘Overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery.’