Trump’s oxygen levels dropped two days running, doctors reveal
President’s doctors say he was given steroid that WHO recommends only for critically ill patients
DONALD TRUMP’S doctors yesterday revealed that his oxygen levels dropped for two days running and that he is taking a steroid treatment to fight Covid19, as they admitted giving an “upbeat” assessment of his health on Saturday. Dr Sean P Conley, the US president’s physician, said Mr Trump’s health had improved yesterday and he could be discharged as early as today.
Mr Trump released a new video message on Sunday afternoon and made a surprise trip to drive past and wave to the supporters who had gathered outside his hospital.
The president was standing for the video in a suit jacket and shirt but no tie. He said he was getting “great reports” from the doctors and now understood Covid-19 better.
“I learned a lot about covid. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school, this isn’t the ‘let’s read the books’ school. And I get it and I understand it,” Mr Trump said.
Footage showed Mr Trump wearing a mask in the back seat of a car being driven past supporters as he waved with both hands and gave a thumbs up.
Dr Conley triggered fresh confusion by saying there were “s o me expected findings” on Mr Trump’s lungs after tests but declined to give more clarity de s pi t e rep eate d questions from reporters, save for sayi ng that the president performed well on breathing t ests. He also declined to say exactly how low Mr
Trump’s blood oxygen l evels had dropped, both on Friday – when the president was given supplemental oxygen – and on Saturday, when the steroid treatment was first used.
The responses meant there remained a lack of clarity on Sunday afternoon about the exact state of Mr Trump’s health as he battled the illness, even as doctors gave an upbeat portrayal and said he could be discharged today.
Dr Brian Garibaldi, another doctor treating Mr Trump, told the briefing: “Today he feels well. He’s been up and around. If he continues to look and feel as well as he does today our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course.”
On Saturday night, Mr Trump posted a four-minute video message from the hospital. He said he was “feeling much better” and would “be back soon” but also cautioned that the “real test” in his illness was in the days to come.
“I came here, wasn’t feeling so well, I feel much better now. We’re working hard to get me all the way back,” said Mr Trump, who looked a little pale.
He spoke in glowing terms about the treatments he was receiving, calling them “miracles coming down from God”, and thanked supporters and world leaders for their messages.
Yesterday’s briefing revealed that the state of his health on Friday and Saturday was much more concerning than White House doctors and officials briefed at the time, adding to critics’ claims of a “credibility gap” in their contemporary public statements. Dr Conl ey conceded yesterday t hat his responses the day before, when he had not revealed Mr Trump had been given oxygen despite repeated questions, may have appeared misleading.
“I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the president [through] the course of illness has had,” Dr Conley said. “I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction, and in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true.”