Did Trump hide that he tested positive in first Covid-19 test? Reports claim he waited for the second result
President Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19 with the election just a month away, putting his Republican Party and supporters in a spot. To add fuel to the many controversies, it has now been reported that the mercurial commander-in-chief did not reveal that he had tested positive after the first diagnosis and instead waited for the results of a second test.
Trump tested positive on Thursday (October 1) evening prior to his talks on Sean Hannity’s program on Fox via telephone but did not reveal it during the show. Instead, the president confirmed reports that Hope Hicks, his counselor, tested positive for Covid-19 and that he has also undergone a test. He only mentioned the second test he had taken the same night and said that he was waiting for the results. "I’ll get my test back either tonight or tomorrow morning," the 74-year-old said.
He revealed the news of himself getting infected along with First Lady Melania early on Friday, October 2, in a tweet and said they would begin their “recovery process immediately”.
Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020
Trump reportedly didn't reveal first coronavirus test result
However, CBS News reported and The Wall Street Journal confirmed that Trump had already tested positive for a rapid test. As the virus spread among his aides, the president asked one of his advisors not to disclose the results in the public, according to the WSJ which cited a person familiar with the conversation.
The White House has not revealed the information about when Trump tested negative, which is important to determine how long he might have had the virus and when he became infectious, the Daily Mail reported. The president has been on a busy campaign run in recent times and also appeared against his Democratic rival Joe Biden in the first presidential debate in Cleveland on September 29. He is also set to meet the former vice president for two more debates on October 15 and 22.
The Republican camp was assured by Trump’s doctor at Walter Reed Medical Center that the president could be discharged on Monday, October 5. "Our plan for today is to have him eat and to drink to be up and out of bed as much as possible," Dr Brian Garibaldi, a doctor from Johns Hopkins, told reporters. "(I)f he continues to look and feel as well as he does today our hope is to plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House to continue his treatment course."
Commander Sean Conley, Trump’s physician at the White House, said the latter “is really doing well”. The president has been tweeting from his bed at the hospital saying he is fine, to boost his supporters. He also tweeted a video in which he praised his medical attendants and supporters who have come out on the streets praying for his fast recovery.
Confusion galore over Trump's Covid-19 diagnosis
However, the story about when Trump was actually hit by the virus has come under the media’s scanner. The word ‘diagnosed’ has not been specifically clarified by the White House and that has added to the confusion over when exactly POTUS got infected. There are several versions now from the White House over when the president was diagnosed and this has raised concerns over him potentially affecting more people.
The White House first came up with the announcement about the first couple’s positive result at 1 am EST on October 2. However, Conley said the next day, October 3, that the president was “72 hours into the diagnosis”.
If that is true, then he was diagnosed just hours before Trump went to Duluth, Minnesota, for an indoor fundraising event and outdoor rally and a day before he took part in an indoor fundraiser at his golf course and country club Bedminster in New Jersey. The president, who met several people at the NJ fundraiser, was reportedly "lethargic", the Mail added.
Conley then again came up with a different version saying that it was on Thursday afternoon that Trump underwent testing and was given a PCR test. He, however, did not say if that was before or after Trump went to NJ for the fundraiser. After Conley's words, a source at the White House said the former had meant that it was Day 3 and not yet 72 hours, the Mail reported. "Diagnosis made Thursday night," the source was cited as saying.
Then again, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany came up with a written statement from the physician saying he mistakenly used the term "seventy two hours" instead of "day three" and "forty eight hours" in place of "day two" in connection with his diagnosis. "The president was first diagnosed with Covid-19 on the evening on Thursday October 1st and had received Regeron’s antibody cocktail on Friday October 2nd," he said in his clarification.
It is also being asked whether Trump was just about to get infected at the time of the first presidential debate, which happened just three days prior to the confirmation of him testing positive. It has been said that when he arrived for the debate with Biden, it was too late for him to undergo testing by the Cleveland Clinic, which hosted the show. Moderator Chris Wallace said there was an 'honor system' in place for the candidates. Trump's team told the Debate Commission that he was negative but as he flew home on Air Force One from the debate, his aides said he was tired but decided it was because of the debate that lasted an hour-and-a-half. But lethargy is known to be a symptom of the disease and it is unclear if doctors took it into consideration.
The clinic later said in a statement that all the participants at the debate and individuals traveling with both the GOP and Democratic candidates tested negative for Covid-19 ahead of the event.