Trump Taken to Walter Reed Hospital After Coronavirus Diagnosis

Gene Maddaus
·3 min read

President Donald Trump was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday evening, after feeling “fatigue” in the wake of his COVID-19 diagnosis.

A White House spokesperson said Trump would spend “the next few days” at the facility.

“Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement.

Trump was seen walking to Marine One, the military helicopter, shortly after 6 p.m. He waved to the media, wearing a dark colored mask. The helicopter took off from the South Lawn en route to the military medical facility in Bethesda, Md.

Earlier on Friday afternoon, Trump’s physician reported that he was “fatigued, but in good spirits.” The White House doctor also provided an extensive list of Trump’s treatments to combat the disease, including an experimental treatment, Regeneron’s polyclonal antibody cocktail.

“President Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day,” McEnany said in the statement.

Trump was initially expected to convalesce at the White House.

Trump announced on Twitter at about 1 a.m. Friday that he had tested positive.

“We will get through this TOGETHER!” he wrote.

He said in a video tweet posted before he boarded the helicopter that he and the First Lady were doing “very well.”

First Lady Melania Trump also tested positive, but her symptoms appear to be relatively mild.

“I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good,” she said on Twitter on Friday. “I am looking forward to a speedy recovery.”

Trump’s trip to Walter Reed will raise questions about whether Vice President Mike Pence may have to temporarily assume power. The 25th Amendment allows the president’s powers to be transferred to the vice president if the president is unable to fulfill his duties. The amendment has been invoked only three times, when Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush underwent colonoscopies.

Trump was supposed to attend a fundraiser at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Friday afternoon before flying to Sanford, Fla., for a rally. Those events were canceled, and the campaign is either canceling subsequent events or making them virtual.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden reportedly suspended negative TV ads earlier on Friday.

“This cannot be a partisan moment,” Biden said on Twitter. “It must be an American moment. We have to come together as a nation.”

Later that evening, former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway tweeted that she too had tested positive for COVID-19 following last Saturday’s Rose Garden Event at the White House.

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