President Trump tweeted a four-minute video message updating the American public Saturday evening on his progress since being tested positive with the coronavirus, saying that he “feels much better now” but the next few days is going to be “the real test.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020
“I came here, wasn’t feeling so well. I feel much better now. We’re working hard to get me all the way back,” Trump said in the video-clip filmed inside Walter Reed Medical Center hospital suite. “I have to be back because we still have to make America great again.”
“So I just want to tell you that I’m starting to feel good,” Trump added. “You don’t know over the next period of a few days, I guess that’s the real test, so we’ll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days.”
Trump briefed the public on the condition of his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive for Covid-19, stating that she “was doing very well.”
“Our First Lady is doing very well,” Trump said. “Melania asked me to say something as to the respect that she has for our country, the love that she has for our country, and we’re both doing well. Melania is really handling it very nicely, as you’ve probably read. She’s slightly younger than me, just a little tiny bit. We know the disease. We know the situation with age versus younger people, and Melania is handling it, statistically, like it’s supposed to be handled, and that makes me very happy, and it makes the country very happy.”
Melania Trump didn’t accompany her husband to Walter Reed, opting to remain quarantined in the White House residence.
“Mrs. Trump is doing well. Her symptoms have not worsened and she continues to rest. She remains in touch with her husband. She is thinking of all who are ill and wishes them a speedy recovery,” Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s chief of staff, said in a statement.
The president was moved from the White House to Walter Reed late Friday. In his remarks, Trump emphasized that he “was given the alternative” of remaining “locked up” in the White House, but stated as a “leader” he didn’t want to send the wrong message.
“I just didn’t want to stay in the White House. I was given that alternative. Stay in the White House, lock yourself in. Don’t ever leave. Don’t even go to the Oval Office. Just stay upstairs, and enjoy it. Don’t see people. Don’t talk to people, and just be done with it, and I can’t do that,” Trump said. “I had to be out front, and this is America. This is the United States. This is the greatest country in the world. This is the most powerful country in the world. I can’t be locked up in a room upstairs, and totally safe, and just say, ‘Hey, whatever happens, happens.’ I can’t do that.”
Trump expressed his gratitude to the “incredible medical professionals” at Walter Reed, and thanked world leaders and the majority of the American people for the well-wishes he received.
“I also want to thank the leaders of the world for their condolences, and they know what we’re going through,” Trump said. “I just want to be so thankful for all of the support I’ve seen, whether it’s on television, or reading about it. I most of all appreciate what’s been said by the American people, by almost a bipartisan consensus of American people. It’s a beautiful thing to see, and I very much appreciate it, and I won’t forget it. I promise you that.”
He concluded, “I just want to thank everybody out there, everybody all over the world, specifically the United States. The outpouring of love has been incredible. I will never forget. Thank you very much.”
Earlier, White House physician Dr. Sean Conley and other members of the medical team briefed reporters on Trump’s condition. Conley said they were “extremely happy with the progress” the president was making.
“This morning the President is doing very well,” Dr. Conley told reporters. “At this time, the team and I are extremely happy with the progress the President has made. Thursday, he had a mild cough and some nasal congestion and fatigue, all of which are now resolving and improving.”
45CoronavirusDr. Sean ConleyFLOTUSMelania TrumpPresident TrumpStephanie GrishamWalter Reed Medical CenterWhite HouseWhite House News
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