Trump in Hospital: Election concerns grip White House
White House officials sought to project an air of business as usual despite President Donald Trump's Covid-19 diagnosis and hospitalisation, but aides privately expressed concern about the presidential election and showed signs of rising worry about the coronavirus.
"The business of government continues," economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters after Trump disclosed on Twitter on Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Trump flew by helicopter to Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment in the early evening. But staff members said he would continue working from a special suite there and that he had remained engaged in governing throughout the day. He did not transfer power to Vice President Mike Pence.
In an 18-second video recorded inside the White House and released on Twitter, Trump broke his silence, saying he was being hospitalised but "I think I'm doing very well."
"We're going to make sure that things work out," he said, adding that First Lady Melania Trump -- who also contracted the virus -- was "doing very well."
Trump is doing "very well" in his hospital, his medics said yesterday, but a source with knowledge of the US president's condition said his vital signs had been worrying, with the next 48 hours critical.
Trump is up and walking, has been fever free for 24 hours and his cough, nasal congestion and fatigue are improving, physician Sean Conley said during the first medical update on his status since the president was admitted to Walter Reed military medical center Friday.
Trump is not receiving extra oxygen, he added, and is "doing very well". "We have monitored his cardiac function, his kidney function, liver function. All of those are normal," another member of the medical team, Sean Dooley said.
But a source familiar with the president's health gave a much more worrying assessment. "The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care," the source said. "We're still not on a clear path to a full recovery."
The White House has not commented on the assessment. Conley was evasive when asked whether Trump had received supplementary oxygen at any point since falling ill, only confirming that he hadn't received any at the hospital or on Thursday -- the day he had his test.
Meanwile, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was receiving the anti-viral drug remdesivir following consultation with specialists. The president was "not requiring any supplemental oxygen," she said in a statement late Friday.
Earlier, she said that medical experts recommended Trump work from the presidential offices at Walter Reed "for the next few days."
The hospitalisation indicated an intense effort to make sure the president's reportedly "mild" symptoms do not deteriorate.
The development also highlighted the uncharted waters for the US election on November 3, with Trump -- who is well behind his Democratic opponent Joe Biden in the polls -- having to freeze much of his campaign.
At first, aides gave rosy assessments, with Trump's chief of staff saying the president, 74, had only mild symptoms, was in "good spirits" and feeling "very energetic."
But later Friday White House physician Sean Conley said Trump received a single dose of Regeneron's antibody cocktail, a treatment not yet approved by regulators.
In his 70s and technically obese, the president is in a higher-risk category.
Daniel Griffin, an infectious disease specialist, told AFP Trump had an estimated 20 percent chance of developing severe disease requiring oxygenation.
The president's son Donald Trump Jr told Fox News his father was "obviously taking it very seriously, but he's a fighter."
Trump spoke to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, McEnany said, and discussed emergency declarations and the coronavirus stimulus package with Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
"His first question to me this morning was, 'How is the economy doing, how are the stimulus talks going on Capitol Hill?," Meadows told reporters outside the White House, adding he had spoken several times to Trump already.
Privately, some Trump advisers worried Trump's illness could cost him the presidential election in just 31 days.
"Clearly it changes the dynamic from us being able to travel and show enormous energy and support from the rallies, which has been part of our calculation just like in 2016," said one Trump adviser.
The Trump campaign said all planned events involving the president were either being postponed or going virtual -- starting with the cancellation of a Florida rally Friday, one Saturday in Wisconsin and others in western states like Arizona next week.
Even the second Trump-Biden debate, scheduled for October 15, is now in some doubt.
Rallies are such a key part of the Trump brand that his sudden inability to travel leaves the campaign scrambling to reinvent its strategy. In addition, Trump has made his argument that coronavirus dangers are overblown a central plank of his reelection platform.
Underlining his sudden advantage in the bitter race, Biden, 77, traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan, going ahead with a previously scheduled campaign stop. He was tested negative for coronavirus, his campaign reveled on Friday.
Biden said he was praying for Trump and his family, and his campaign announced it would take down all negative ads.
However, Biden also reminded voters that he has pushed consistently for taking seriously the coronavirus, which has killed more than 208,000 Americans, unlike his opponent who has mocked the Democrat for his rigorous use of masks.
"Be patriotic," Biden told supporters in Michigan through a blue surgical mask. "It's not about being a tough guy. It's about doing your part."
News of Trump's infection came after one of his closest advisors, Hope Hicks, tested positive -- sparking fears of a cluster of cases emanating from the heart of the White House.
Trump met with dozens of people through the week and reportedly went to a fundraiser in New Jersey after it was known that Hicks had contracted the virus.
The White House said it was carrying out contact tracing, while Melania Trump's spokeswoman said the couple's 14-year-old son Barron had tested negative.
Vice President Mike Pence and other senior figures tested negative. The White House said Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was negative too.
Former White House top aid Kellyanne Conway, however, announced late Friday she had tested positive with "mild" symptoms.
Trump's campaign manager, 42-year-old Bill Stepien, said he had tested positive, US media reported, and was in quarantine with mild symptoms.
As the news rattled global stock markets, leaders including Germany's Angela Merkel, Britain's Boris Johnson, and Russia's Vladimir Putin wished the president and first lady a speedy recovery.
Trump's predecessor Barack Obama noted the US is "in the midst of a big political fight" but set aside the bitter election battle to extend "best wishes" to the first family.
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