Iran Press/ America: That word came the day after a series of contradictory messages from the White House about Trump’s conditions caused widespread confusion about his health, Reuters reported.
“The patient continues to improve. He has remained without fever since Friday morning, his vital signs are stable,” Dr. Sean Dooley told reporters at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Trump has been receiving treatment since Friday.
Trump released a four-minute video on Saturday in which he said the “real test” of his condition will come over the next few days.
“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 said into the camera, looking tired and wearing a jacket and open-necked shirt.
Trump’s illness has upended the campaign ahead of the November presidential election and cast a spotlight on the president’s handling of the pandemic. The Republican president is trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden in opinion polls.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Sunday found that Biden had opened a 10 point lead over Trump nationally, slightly wider than it has been for the past two months. Some 65% of Americans said Trump likely would not have been infected had he taken the virus more seriously -- a view that half of registered Republicans polled supported. Some 55% said they did not believe Trump had been telling the truth about the virus.
Trump’s campaign vowed that Vice President Mike Pence, who would assume the presidency if Trump were unable to carry out his duties, would have an “aggressive” campaign schedule this week, as would Trump’s three oldest children.
“We can’t stay in our basement or shut down the economy indefinitely. We have to take it head-on,” Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
Within minutes, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows gave reporters a less rosy assessment, saying, “The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”
Meadows, whose initial comments were delivered on condition that he not be identified, altered his tone hours later, telling Reuters that Trump was doing “very well” and that “doctors are very pleased with his vital signs.”
Meadows did not clarify the discrepancy in his comments. A Trump adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity said the president was not happy to learn of Meadows’ initial remarks.
However, in an interview with Fox News broadcast Saturday night, Meadows revealed that Trump’s condition on Friday was far worse than officials had made public, saying doctors recommended the president go to the hospital after seeing he had a fever and his blood oxygen level dropped rapidly.
White House doctor Sean P. Conley told reporters outside the hospital on Saturday that Trump had not had trouble breathing, and was not given oxygen at Walter Reed.
He declined to give a timetable for Trump’s possible release from the hospital and later had to issue a statement saying he misspoke after appearing to suggest Trump had been diagnosed as early as Wednesday.
In a statement on Saturday evening, Conley said the president was “not yet out of the woods” but his team remained cautiously optimistic.
Trump has repeatedly played down the threat of the pandemic, even as it has killed more than 208,000 Americans and hammered the U.S. economy.
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Trump says next days of COVID-19 treatment will be real test
