Tag: Trump COVID-19 diagnosis

Trump was so weak with COVID he dropped his overnight bag at Walter Reed after only carrying it a few feet: new book

Raw Story Logo

Previous stories have revealed that former President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 infection was far worse than had originally been reported. It was revealed earlier that Trump was on supplemental oxygen at the White House, but his oxygen rate dropped so low that White House staff grew concerned. That’s when Trump was given the option of walking out to the helicopter or being wheeled out in front of the press.

In Michael Bender’s new book, “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,” it was revealed that Trump was so ill that chief of staff Mark Meadows was asking staff to pray for him. 

White House reporters were worried that Trump might come over to them, not knowing just how bad he was. They made a pact, the book says, that they would ask him to maintain his distance for their protection. Continue reading.

Trump returns to campaign trail after COVID-19 diagnosis

The Hill logo

President Trump returns to the campaign trail on Monday to kick off four straight days of rallies in battleground states despite lingering questions about his health after being hospitalized with COVID-19 10 days ago.

Trump will hold four airport rallies in the same number of days beginning with an appearance in Sanford, Fla., Monday evening, followed by trips to Johnstown, Pa., Des Moines, Iowa, and Greenville, N.C., later in the week. 

Trump has dwindling time to turn his reelection campaign around just more than three weeks from Election Day, as polls show him trailing Democratic nominee Joe Biden by a decisive margin nationally and in several swing states. Early voting is already underway across the country. Continue reading.

Trump slight against Gold Star families adds to military woes

The Hill logo

President Trump has sparked a new wave of criticism over his treatment of members of the military after suggesting he may have caught the coronavirus from Gold Star families.

The latest row comes after a series of scandals in which Trump was accused of disparaging service members, giving his political rivals an opening and calling into question whether he can hold on to a bloc of voters seen as central to his base.

With the presidential election now less than a month away and Trump trailing in both national polls and key battleground states, the president can ill afford more incidents that generate negative headlines and risk alienating any service members, veterans or other military supporters. Continue reading.

Trump returns to public campaigning, falsely claiming that the virus that infected him is ‘disappearing’

Washington Post logo

President Trump held his first public event since contracting the novel coronavirus, gathering a crowd of hundreds of supporters at the White House on Saturday despite providing no evidence that he was no longer infectious.

It marked the beginning of what aides have described as a triumphant return to campaigning for reelection after his hospitalization — and a sign that the virus that rocked Trump’s campaign and infected much of the West Wing has not changed his combative and defiant approach to governing.

“We’re starting very, very big with the rallies, and with our everything,” Trump told the crowded group of conservative activists while standing on a balcony. “Because we cannot allow our country to become a socialist nation.” Continue reading.

Trump dodges tough questions on his health during rambling Tucker Carlson interview

AlterNet logo

Donald Trump’s appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show, less than a week since the president returned from being hospitalized for COVID-19, revealed very little about Trump’s health or infectiousness. Yet unintentionally, the president seems to have dropped some clues about the seriousness of his condition during the rambling, tangent-ridden interview.

The interview on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was conducted by Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News contributor who has defended Trump’s poor handling of the American coronavirus outbreak, compared the pandemic to the flu and in 2016 raised concerns about the neurological health of then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton despite never having examined her in person.

Carlson set a hagiographic tone for the segment at the beginning, describing Trump’s supposed “remarkable turnaround” before allowing Siegel to conduct the interview. The two were not in the same room: Siegel was in a studio and Trump was in the White House, being filmed separately. Trump and Siegel’s conversation wandered, from Trump blaming China for the virus and repeatedly mentioning Regeneron (a company that gave him an experimental drug and with which he has personal ties) to describing himself as “very strong,” offering to donate his plasma and claiming that he has improved faster and better than others who have had COVID-19. Continue reading.

White House aides fear Trump’s drugs have triggered manic behavior: report

AlterNet logo

A stunning report in the New York Times Thursday night described President Donald Trump lashing out and demanding his own appointees prosecute his enemies, an egregious breach of norms and real and present danger to American democracy. Most shocking of all was the fact that this largely wasn’t some anonymously sourced bombshell — most of the comments the Times’ report was based on Trump made publicly

But far down in the report was a notable nugget about the White House that wasn’t based on publicly available information. According to the Times reporters, Trump’s own aides are worried that his manic and erratic public behavior this week may be a result of his illness and the medications he’s been taking:

White House aides privately expressed concern about whether the president’s animated mood in recent days stemmed from the dexamethasone. Doctors not involved with the president’s care said it could have a significant effect on a patient’s behavior. Continue reading.

Why is Pelosi suddenly talking about the 25th Amendment?

Speaker backs Raskin bill to set up nonpartisan commission to determine a president’s fitness, says it’s not about Trump

Why would Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveil legislation less than one month before Election Day to establish a commission under the 25th Amendment to determine the president’s fitness for holding office?

That’s the question many in Washington are asking Friday after Pelosi held a news conference with Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a constitutional scholar and member of the House Democratic leadership team, to back his bill setting up a Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office.

Democrats say they’re simply setting up a process authorized by the Constitution that should’ve been codified long ago but is especially needed now because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans think Pelosi is continuing the effort she started with impeachment to try to oust President Donald Trump. And others suggest Pelosi is signaling that Trump, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, is unfit to hold office. Continue reading.

Democrats unveil bill creating panel to gauge president’s ‘capacity’

The Hill logo

House Democrats on Friday unveiled legislation creating a panel to gauge a president’s capacity to perform the job — and potentially remove the commander in chief from office in cases of decided debility.

The commission would be permanent, applying to future administrations, but it’s a clear shot at President Trump, whose treatments for the coronavirus have raised questions about their effects on his mental acuity.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a sharp critic of the president, has fueled those questions in the the days since Trump returned to the White House after three nights in the hospital, floating the idea that Trump’s drug regimen — which includes a steroid linked to mood swings — might be affecting his decisionmaking. Continue reading.

Trump Sneezes, GOP Catches the Virus

The president’s coronavirus diagnosis added another layer of volatility to competitive down-ballot races that will determine which party controls the upper chamber next year.

The president’s coronavirus diagnosis added another layer of volatility to competitive down-ballot races that will determine which party controls the upper chamber next year.

Trump’s diagnosis adds another layer of volatility not just to the presidential race but to competitive down-ballot races that will determine which party controls the upper chamber next year. Republicans, who hope to continue reshaping the federal judiciary in a second Trump term, hold a 53-47 seat majority but are mostly on defense with a Senate map that continues to widen for Democrats less than one month out from Election Day.

Democrats, eyeing control of both chambers of Congress under a President Joe Biden, need to win at least four seats to take back the Senate majority for the first time since 2014. With an expanding map, Democrats have more than half a dozen opportunities, though they still need to protect a couple of their own vulnerable seats, like in Alabama and Michigan. And one of their top targets – North Carolina – has been roiled by revelations of their nominee’s extramarital relationship. The battle for the Senate remains fluid and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has put Republican chances of holding the chamber at “50-50.” Continue reading.

Walter Reed staff were required to sign nondisclosure agreements during Trump’s November 2019 medical visit

Washington Post logo

Doctors and medical staff working at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center when President Trump made a medical visit there last November were required to sign nondisclosure agreements, an unusual request that rankled some personnel, according to multiple people familiar with the episode.

Although the White House has described Trump’s stop at the hospital as part of a “routine” checkup, there were multiple signs that the visit was hastily arranged and did not follow the typical protocol for a planned presidential stop, according to the people, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the visit.

Trump’s two-hour visit to the military hospital on Nov. 16, eight months after his annual physical, had not been listed on his public schedule. Continue reading.