Trump Seeks to Reassure Americans After Day of Mixed Signals on His Health
1 hr ago
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-seeks-to-reassure-americans-after-day-of-mixed-signals-on-his-health/ar-BB19GG0b?ocid=msedgntp
*Conley Says the President Has Continued to Improve
*White House Physician Dr. Sean Conley Speaks at Press Conference
*Doctors: If Trump Continues To Improve, He Could Be Discharged on Monday
*Trump’s Doctor: Trump Was Given Supplemental Oxygen on Friday for About an Hour
*Doctors: Trump’s Vital Signs Are Stable
*Doctors Trump Isn’t Complaining of Shortness Of Breath
Updates to follow
WASHINGTON—President Trump and his advisers sought to reassure the public about his condition after a day of mixed signals that ended with his doctor’s assessment that while the president was improving, he was “not yet out of the woods.”
The president’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said late Saturday on Fox News that Mr. Trump was improving after suffering from a fever and rapidly dropping blood oxygen levels on Friday. Mr. Trump remained at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Sunday, and doctors haven’t indicated when he may leave.
In a memo released Saturday evening, the president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said the president “remains fever-free and off supplemental oxygen,” adding that “while not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic.”
Mr. Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis cast doubt over his ability to confirm a new Supreme Court nominee, further scrambled the presidential campaign with just 30 days until Election Day and generated fresh anxiety about the virus that has claimed about 209,000 American lives. White House officials and the president’s allies maintained that Mr. Trump continues to conduct his presidential duties, despite his illness.
Mr. Trump addressed the public in a four-minute video posted to Twitter on Saturday, saying he was feeling much better and added that he wants to recover quickly so he can finish the presidential campaign. The president said he had no choice but to be out in public during the pandemic, explaining that he was willing to take the risk of contracting the coronavirus to continue leading the country. “I can’t be locked up in a room upstairs,” he said.
The White House is expected to provide additional updates on the president’s condition on Sunday. “I spoke with the President. President Trump is fully engaged and fully in charge,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in an email. The White House distributed photographs that it said showed Mr. Trump working from Walter Reed.
White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Sunday that the administration isn’t taking steps to transfer power to Vice President Mike Pence. “No, that’s not something that’s on the table at this point,” he said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” He added later, “I’m not going to address hypotheticals, but we have plans for everything.”
If the president’s condition were to worsen, he could temporarily transfer power to Mr. Pence under the 25th Amendment. Such a transfer has happened only three times in U.S. history, when then-presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush underwent colonoscopies. In other incidents, such as when Mr. Reagan was shot and had to undergo emergency surgery in 1981, power wasn’t formally transferred.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), who is second in line for the presidency, said Sunday on “Face the Nation” that she was receiving her information on the president’s health from the media, not through any formal briefings.
Mrs. Pelosi said Republicans haven’t done enough to combat the virus, noting that Republicans and Democrats remain at odds over the latest coronavirus relief package. “They don’t believe in science and they don’t want to do anything about it,” she said.