Trump taken to hospital
♦ Marine One flies president to military centre the day after positive test ♦ White House says visit is just precaution and will last ‘a few days’ ♦ Covid bombshell throws election into chaos
DONALD TRUMP was taken to hospital last night after contracting coronavirus, a dramatic escalation after having tested positive the evening before.
Marine One, the official presidential helicopter, landed on the White House’s south lawn to take the president to Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Maryland.
White House officials who had been stressing all day yesterday that Mr Trump was only suffering “mild symptoms” said he would be working from offices in the army hospital in the coming days.
The decision to move the president from the White House to a medical facility suggested there is deep concern about his health. The president’s physician, Dr Sean Conley, said Mr Trump was “fatigued but in good spirits” yesterday afternoon but The New York Times reported he had “a low-grade fever, nasal congestion and a cough”.
White House officials reportedly insisted there would be no transfer of power, something that can happen when a president becomes incapacitated.
Mike Pence, who as vice-president would be the person to step in should Mr Trump’s health deteriorate, was at his residence in Washington last night after testing negative for coronavirus.
As a 74-year- old who is clinically obese Mr Trump falls into high-risk category for the virus. No sitting president is known to have faced a life-threatening condition since 1981 when Ronald Reagan was shot.
The announcement of Mr Trump and his wife Melania Trump’s positive coronavirus tests came in a tweet of his sent at close to 1am yesterday morning.
The news sent shockwaves through Washington DC, prompting a scramble to work out how far the virus had spread at the top of the US government and upending the presidential campaign just a month before election day on Nov 3.
Throughout the day, senior White House figures had attempted to play down concerns about the impact on the running of the administration, saying that Mr Trump was showing only “mild symptoms” of Covid-19.
“He continues to be not only in good spirits but very energetic,” said Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff. Other senior figures made similar comments, joking Mr Trump was still handing out orders as usual. Mr Trump’s doctor had initially said the president and the First Lady were “both well at this time” when the announcement of their positive tests was first made.
However, for more than 16 hours the president made no public comment having revealed the test result, neither to camera nor on Twitter – he is a prolific tweeter – which led to speculation about the state of his health.
Then, shortly after 5pm on Friday, it was announced that Mr Trump would be moved to a medical facility and Marine One landed at the White House to take him.
Kayleigh Mcenany, the White House press secretary, said: “President Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day. Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days. President Trump appreciates the outpouring of support for both he and the First Lady.”
While US officials framed the move as one taken out of caution, the decision that Mr Trump should be in a hospital rather than self-isolating at his home less than 24 hours after the positive test was a reflection of how seriously the infection was being treated.
A second statement from the president’s physician, released late afternoon, said that Mr Trump had been given a dose of an experimental antibody cocktail being developed by the
drug maker Regeneron.dr Conley said the president had been given a single eight-gram dose of the drug, as well as zinc, vitamin D, a heartburn treatment and painkillers.
Joe Biden, the 77-year- old Democratic presidential nominee who debated against Mr Trump without a mask on Tuesday evening, was twice tested for Covid-19 yesterday and both times the result was negative.
Mr Biden said at a campaign event yesterday: “May God protect the First Family, and every family that is dealing with this virus. And may God protect our troops.”
The close medical attention given to Mr Trump is in stark contrast to that received by Boris Johnson when he caught coronavirus earlier in the year.
The Prime Minister was left to selfisolate after his diagnosis and received little immediate medical help until he was taken into intensive care. Mr Trump has a doctor watching over him around the clock.
Several other White House figures also received negative results yesterday, including Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter; Barron Trump, his son; Jared Kushner, his son-in-law; and senior cabinet ministers and advisers.
But doubts remained about whether that meant such figures were in the clear, given it can be days between someone catching Covid-19 and it being detectable on tests.
Other cases of infection have emerged at the top of government. Hope Hicks, the 31-year-old who is one of Mr Trump’s closest advisers, received a positive test on Thursday. It was her result that triggered Mr Trump to take a test.
Ronna Mcdaniel, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Mike Lee, the Utah senator, also received positive tests.
A flood of supportive messages from world leaders came yesterday, including from Mr Johnson, who The Daily Telegraph understands t exted Mr Trump a message of goodwill. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor;, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, were among other leaders to express their support.
Donald J. Trump @realdonaldtrump Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
DONALD TRUMP has been criticised for pressing ahead with a campaign trip to meet financial donors despite knowing that one of his closest aides had been diagnosed with coronavirus.
After Hope Hicks, the president’s counsellor, tested positive on Thursday morning, Mr Trump flew to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, for an event where donors paid up to $250,000 to meet him.
Phil Murphy, the Democratic governor of New Jersey, said everyone who was present should now “take full precautions, including self-quarantining and getting tested.”
More than 100 people attended the fundraiser at Bedminster, and Mr Trump was reportedly not wearing a mask.
Dan Eberhart, an energy company executive and Republican fundraiser, said: “Donald Trump should not have gone to a fundraiser yesterday knowing Hope was sick. He should have not tried keeping it a secret!”
Dr Rich Roberts, a donor who attended the event, said: “A small group I was part of met with him. We met with him for about 45 minutes to an hour.
“There were 19 of us – we were at a table set up to make a rectangular shape. I was directly across from him.”
He said that at the meeting, Mr Trump accused the Centers for Disease Control and Protection of being politically motivated and accused them of delaying vaccines to hurt him.
Mr Trump went ahead with the trip despite White House officials, who had been in contact with Ms Hicks, being told to stay behind at the last moment.
The president held two private events at Bedminster, a roundtable with supporters and a speech at a fundraising committee reception.
One guest wrote on Facebook that she had her photograph taken with the president. Republican donors were reportedly “freaking out” and ringing campaign headquarters for advice.
But John Sette, a Republican donor who was at the Bedminster event, said Mr Trump did keep his distance from others, and that he looked and sounded “100 per cent normal”.
The portion of the event he attended was outdoors and the president was “far away from everybody,” he said.
At 11:18am yesterday, those present received an email from Trump Victory, a fundraising committee, saying that no one had been allowed within 6ft of the president. But the email said: “Please contact your medical provider if you or any of your loved ones is ill or develops a fever, shortness of breath, or other respiratory symptoms.”
Kayleigh Mcenany, the White House press secretary, said White House Operations had made the decision that it was safe for Mr Trump to travel to the Bedminster fundraiser.
She said: “It was deemed safe for the president to go, he socially distanced, and it was an outdoor event, and it was deemed safe by White House Operations.”
Meanwhile, the future of the presidential debates was thrown into doubt
Ivanka Trump @Ivankatrump Praying for the swift recovery of my father and Melania and for all those impacted by Covid-19. As they fight this together, the President will continue to fight for the people of this great country.
after Mr Trump went into quarantine.
The CDC recommends that anyone with the virus should isolate for 10 days from when they first felt symptoms, and that anyone exposed to the virus should stay at home for 14 days.
Mr Trump’s diagnosis was announced in the early hours of yesterday, Oct 2, and the next debate is due to take place on Oct 15.
The events have turned Mr Trump’s campaign upside down, with only a month to go until voting day on Tuesday, Nov 3. His plan to hold multiple rallies daily in battleground states, in contrast to Joe Biden’s virtual events, has been put on hold.
The developments have also placed the coronavirus pandemic back at the top of the election campaign. Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist, said: “From now until we get to the election, attention is going to be back where it should be – on Covid, the president’s response and the impact. This proves our candidate was right all along.”
A spokesman for the local Democratic party accused Mr Trump of “completely irresponsible behaviour.”
Melania Trump @FLOTUS Thank you for the love you are sending our way. I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery.