MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Is Trump healthy to make public appearances? Internet calls vital signs released by Dr Conley ‘load of bulls**t’

Dr Conley released Trump's vital signs, including normal pulse, blood pressure and blood oxygen level, for the first time since he contracted the virus

Is President Donald Trump doing okay? The 74-year-old was tested positive for Covid-19 on October 2, 2020, and his announcement created much havoc across America with calls for the Constitution’s 25th Amendment — which spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of the presidency.

Smashing all rumors that the president may have to put in his papers, Trump's doctor said he will be able to return to "public engagements" on Saturday, October 10, 2020 — barely a week after being diagnosed with coronavirus and being treated at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. As per a Daily Mail report, White House Physician Dr Sean Conley released Trump's vital signs for the first time since he became infected, with a pulse, blood pressure and blood oxygen level all within normal ranges.

"Since returning home, his physical exam has remained stable and devoid of any indications to the suggested progression of illness," Conley said in a memo released by the White House," adding, "Overall he's responded extremely well to treatment, without evidence on examination of adverse therapeutic effects. Saturday will be day 10 since Thursday's diagnosis and based on the trajectory of advanced diagnostics the team has been conducting, I fully anticipate the President's safe return to public engagements at that time."

Going by the memo, Trump's resting pulse was at the lower end of the normal range at 69 beats per minute. His blood pressure was recorded at 127/81mm Hg, which is slightly elevated over normal levels. Moreover, the reports stated his breathing rate was normal and blood oxygen was 96 to 98 percent. Mysteriously, the report did not state Trump's temperature, which is the first thing measured to evaluate a Covid-19 sign.

The report soon started to do the rounds on social media. Although many Trump supporters reiterating the sentiment that the president was doing fine, many others questioned the credibility of the document. Politico journalist David Freelander shared it on Twitter and wrote, "President’s doctor says it’s time to hit the campaign trail again." CNN’s Chief WH Correspondent Jim Acosta posted, "WH doctor says Trump on track to go back to 'public engagements' on Saturday... ie campaign trail." PBS and NewsHour reporter Yamiche Alcindor said, "The president’s doctor says he anticipates President Trump will be able to safely return to public engagement after Saturday which would be 10 days since his diagnosis. But, Dr Sean Conley hasn’t made himself available to answer questions since Monday."

In an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump had said, "I don't think I'm contagious at all," adding, "Remember this: when you catch it you get better. And then you're immune. I'm a perfect physical specimen and I'm extremely young. And so I'm lucky that way."

Trump, who returned to the Oval Office on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, afternoon, said he was no longer taking medication to combat the virus but also added that he was taking the prescribed steroids, labeling it a "not heavy" drug. "I think you go a little bit longer on - they have a steroid. It's not even, it's not a heavy steroid, yet they have that go a little bit longer, but I'm not taking - I'm almost not taking anything, I feel great," he said. A string of reactions soon started circulating on social media. "Clear to me that @realDonaldTrump is not of sound mind and body," California's Representative Ted Lieu posted. Don Winslow even went on to write, "Donald Trump LOVES his new steroids because it brings him back the 80s and 90s when he used a different substance to jack him the F up."

Many couldn't believe the report at all. "Was he sedated when you took those vital signs? What a load of bulls**t!" one Twitter user posted and another said, "Notably missing in the listed vital signs is his temperature..." A third chimed in, "Dr Sean Conley released a letter giving the okay for Donald Trump to return to public events the day after tomorrow. The letter gave Trump’s vital signs, which were all within the normal range. Notably the doctor’s letter did NOT say Trump has tested negative for Covid." A fourth Twitter user exclaimed, "So @realDonaldTrump now has the vital signs of a 25-year-old. I call bulls**t."

Trump's treatment regime included dexamethasone, an experimental anti-viral drug that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is testing to supply antibodies that help a patient fight the disease, and the antiviral drug Remdesivir.