- One of the many Trump COVID updates everyone got on Sunday was a shocker — at one point in the afternoon, President Trump actually left the confines of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he’s being treated for the coronavirus and was driven around so that he could wave to supporters and well-wishers gathered outside.
- While he’s been at Walter Reed, President Trump has also, according to his own words, been meeting with soldiers being treated there.
- These kinds of things go against the quarantining and sequestering off of one’s self that’s recommended when given a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
Dr. James Phillips is an attending physician at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center — the sprawling hospital complex in Bethesda, Maryland, where President Trump was brought from the White House following his COVID-19 diagnosis in recent days. On Sunday, Phillips used his Twitter account to lambast the president’s behavior on a day when the national press was dominated by one Trump COVID update after another.
What set off Phillips was the fact that Trump decide to leave his hospital room temporarily, arguably breaking the quarantine that infected COVID-19 patients should observe. Trump left the room and the hospital entirely so that he could be seen riding around outside on Sunday afternoon, waving at supporters and well-wishers. Trump was in the back seat of a black SUV, and even appeared to be dancing in his seat at one point, while two masked people (presumably Secret Service agents) rode up front.
“Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential ‘drive-by’ just now has to be quarantined for 14 days,” Phillips tweeted. “They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity.
Continued Phillips: “That Presidential SUV is not only bulletproof, but hermetically sealed against chemical attack. The risk of (COVID-19) transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play.”
Here’s a piece of video shared on Twitter that appears to capture a masked President Trump dancing in his SUV outside Walter Reed, while close-up photos of Secret Service in the SUV with him showed they appeared to be wearing N95 masks, as well as some sort of full-body PPE akin to hospital scrubs-type material. Still, that all seems to stand in contrast to what NBC News White House correspondent Peter Alexander says he was told about why First Lady Melania Trump would not be visiting Trump at Walter Reed — because she, too, has COVID-19 “and that would expose the agents who would drive her there.”
This was one of several stunning developments from Sunday related to Trump and his coronavirus diagnosis. Earlier in the day, Trump also released the following video on social media showing him from inside Walter Reed saying at one point that he’s now “learned a lot” about COVID-19:
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2020
In that same video, Trump also makes a brief reference to the fact that he’s apparently been meeting with soldiers at Walter Reed while he’s being treated there, which doesn’t sound like something that a person with coronavirus should be doing. And, for good measure, a Trump campaign aide went on one of the Sunday morning talk shows to once again make fun of Joe Biden for wearing a face mask as much as he does. What a day.
BREAKING: Trump just forced Secret Service agents to drive him — still infected with Coronavirus with the car windows rolled up — so that he could go on a joyride and wave to Proud Boys who had crowded outside Walter Reed.
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) October 4, 2020
#BreakingNews … Trump just left the hospital so he could honk & wave at supporters around #WalterReed Hospital. He’s back, but all 4 or 5 people riding in his (sealed) car & those helping him in or out of the car now MUST quarantine for 14 days (or die), for political theater. pic.twitter.com/7xZ90PPZuu
— John Moffitt 🌊🌊 (@JohnRMoffitt) October 4, 2020
7 month into a global pandemic that’s killed 200K+ Americans, Trump, having been hospitalized, tweets video: says he now “understands” COVID.
He then commands motorcade to circle Walter Reed-jeopardizing the safety of secret servicemen-for a photo op & to wave at his supporters. pic.twitter.com/kg6UiSyirg
— Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) October 4, 2020