Donald Trump has been accused of downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to claim numerous lives across the United States, despite his own coronavirus diagnosis. Living up to his reputation, the president took his mask off as soon as he entered the White House, ignoring the West Wing outbreak.
Trump spent three nights at the Walter Reed medical center before returning on Monday to the White House, where he will continue to receive treatment for COVID-19. Trump's physician, Dr. Sean P. Conley had revealed earlier in the day that the president wasn't out of danger yet.
Donning a suit and a mask, Trump passed through the large golden doors of the Walter Reed medical center, paused, and pumped his fist a few times at chest level. He ignored shouted questions from the press walking by on his own. "Thank you very much, everybody," he said waving at the public gathered there.
He then got into a black SUV that took him to the presidential helicopter, Marine One, for a brief flight to the White House. He gave a thumbs-up before boarding his helicopter, which departed after 6:45 p.m. for a short 10-minute flight.
Once he landed on the South Lawn, Trump climbed a flight of stairs before turning to his helicopter and the live TV cameras. He then went on to remove his mask before giving the departing Marine One a lengthy salute.
Trump then turned and walked into the White House residence, without wearing his mask. There were several people donning masks inside, including what seemed to be an official photographer capturing the moment.
Three major network newscasts on NBC, CBS, and ABC carried the entire incident live, the kind of blanket TV coverage that Trump is fond of. After he climbed the stairs, Trump appeared to be short of breath, per The New York Times.
The president's physician, Dr. Sean Conley said at a briefing earlier in the day that the president has continued to improve over the past 24 hours. He went on to say that Trump "met or exceeded" the standard discharge criteria of the hospital.
Dr. Conley, however, opted not to answer some key questions regarding the president’s condition, such as his lung function and when did he the last test negative for coronavirus, before testing positive last week. However, they revealed that Trump had received the third dose of the antiviral drug remdesivir, adding that he continues to take dexamethasone, which is a steroid drug that has been touted as beneficial to very weak patients with COVID-19.
Dr. Conley explained that they will be waiting until this weekend to see if they get through to Monday with Trump either remaining the same or improving before they take that final deep sigh of relief. He did not confirm whether or not the president will be confined to his residence.