Trump returns to White House, although doctors say he ‘may not entirely be out of the woods’
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and returned to the
White House on Monday night, three days after he was hospitalized for COVID-19 and hours after his doctors warned that they won’t know for a week whether he has recovered.
Despite receiving experimental drugs and experiencing setbacks over the weekend that suggested medical complications, Trump insisted he was feeling “better than I did 20 years ago,” even as his doctor warned that the president “may not entirely be out of the woods yet.”
The mixed messaging reflected days of confusion and misleading statements from the White House, which has become a center of contagion for the disease. In addition to the president and first lady Melania Trump, at least a dozen Trump aides, campaign officials, Republican lawmakers and recent contacts have tested positive for the coronavirus since last week.
Wearing a mask and his usual blue suit, Trump walked briskly out the brass-colored door at Walter Reed, raised his fist and then climbed into an armored SUV at 6:38 p.m. Eastern time, almost three days exactly after he was helicoptered to the military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
In a tweet earlier Monday, Trump downplayed the severity of the pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans and infected 7.4 million others – including more than 100,000 since he went into the hospital Friday.
“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” he tweeted. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”
Trump’s advice to not be afraid of COVID rang alarms among health professionals, who pointed out that the disease remains deadly and is spiking in numerous states. For now, they said, Trump remains contagious and should isolate himself at the White House for 10 days to avoid infecting others.
After landing in Marine One at the White House Monday evening, Trump dramatically ascended the south staircase to the balcony and posed for cameras, removing his face mask and saluting. Inside, unmasked, he recorded a video that he later posted on Twitter, seeking political benefit from his ongoing health crisis.
“I knew there’s danger to it. But I had to do it,” he said in the video. “I stood out front. I led. Nobody that’s a leader would not do what I did. I know there’s a risk. ... But that’s OK. And now I’m better. Maybe I’m immune; I don’t know.”
Earlier, Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean
Conley, told reporters that the president had “met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria,” even as he cautioned that Trump could face a relapse in coming days.
“If we can get through (next) Monday ... then we will all take that deep sigh of relief,” he said.
Conley acknowledged that Trump’s response is unusual because, as president, he was given experimental drugs that are unavailable to the general public and was treated at the nation’s foremost military hospital. Few other Americans have access to that kind of care.
“We’re in a bit of uncharted territory when it comes to a patient that received the therapies he has so early in the course,” he added.