Trump speaks at WhiteHouse in first public appearance since hospitalization
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Saturday made his first public appearance after being hospitalized for the coronavirus, defying public health guidelines to speak to a crowd of hundreds.
The White House doctor said Saturday night that Trump was no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus. In a memo released by the White House, Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley said Trump met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “currently recognized standards” he was no longer considered a transmission risk.
The memo did not declare Trump had tested negative for the virus.
Some medical experts had been skeptical that Trump could be declared free of the risk of transmitting the virus so early in the course of his illness. Just 10 days since an initial diagnosis of infection, there was no way to know for certain that someone was no longer contagious, they said.
At Saturday’s event, Trump took off a mask moments after he emerged on the WhiteHouse balcony to address the crowd on the lawn below, his first step back onto the public stage with just over three weeks to go until Election Day.
His return was a brief one. With bandages visible on his hands, likely from an intravenous injection, Trump spoke for 18 minutes, far less than at his normal hour-plus rallies. He appeared healthy, if perhaps a little hoarse, as he delivered what was, for all intents and purposes, a short version of his campaign speech despite the executive mansion setting.
Though billed as an official event, Trump offered no policy proposals and instead delivered attacks on Democrat Joe Biden while praising law enforcement
to a crowd of several hundred, most of whom wore masks. But few adhered to social distancing guidelines.
“I’m feeling great,” Trump said.
He also said he was thankful for their good wishes and prayers as he recovered. He then declared that the pandemic, which has killed more than 210,000 Americans, was “disappearing” even though he is still recovering from the virus.
Officials organized the crowd
just steps from the Rose Garden, where exactly two weeks ago the president held another large gathering to formally announce his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
That event is now being eyed as a possible COVID-19 superspreader, as more than two dozen people in attendance have contracted the virus.
But even as Trump planned to rampup his travel with a rally in Florida on Monday, followed by trips to Pennsylvania and Iowa on subsequent days.
Security was stepped up around the White House before the event, which was called a “peaceful protest for law & order” and predominantly attended by Black and Latino supporters.
Police and the Secret Service closed surrounding streets to vehicles and shut down Lafayette Square, the park near the White House that has long been a gathering place for public protest.
Biden’s campaign said he again tested negative Saturday
for COVID-19.
On Saturday, all attendees were required to bring masks or were provided them. Theywere given temperature checks and asked to fill out a brief questionnaire. Some in the crowd removed their masks.
Trump’s Monday event in Sanford, Fla., what he’s described as a “BIG RALLY,” was originally scheduled to be held Oct. 2, the day after he tested positive.
Aides to the president insist that it is safe for Trump to return to his regular activities, including campaigning. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines call for the infected to wait at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, noted Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert.
That onset for Trump was Oct. 1, according to his doctors.
Conley added that Trump was showing no evidence of his illness progressing or adverse reactions to the aggressive course of therapy he has received.