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Trump doctors say he had two oxygen dips but is 'improving' and may return to White House tomorrow – live Trump doctors say he had two oxygen dips but is 'improving' and may return to White House tomorrow – live
(32 minutes later)
Doctor says president ‘remains without fever since Friday morning’Doctor says president ‘remains without fever since Friday morning’
Donald Trump just tweeted his appreciation to “all the fans and supporters outside the hospital”.
“The fact is, they really love our Country and are seeing how we are MAKING IT GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!” the president wrote on Twitter.
Supporters of the president gathered outside Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, where Trump is being held, wearing MAGA hats and holding signs affirming their support of Trump since yesterday afternoon.
Some reports say that a handful of supporters weren’t wearing masks or practicing social distancing.
Reporters on Twitter have suggested that some people showing up outside the hospital are a part of QAnon, the far-right conspiracy theorist group that believes Trump is waging a secret battle against the “deep state”.
GOP senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania announced his retirement today, setting the stage for what will be a contentious fight for his open Senate seat in 2022.GOP senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania announced his retirement today, setting the stage for what will be a contentious fight for his open Senate seat in 2022.
Toomey’s reelection in 2016 was settled after what turned out to be the most expensive Senate race in history after groups from outside the state funnelled money into Toomey’s campaign and that of his Democratic candidate, Katie McGinty. The race saw $113 million and showed just how valuable a single seat in the Senate can be for either party. Toomey won by getting just over 1% more votes than McGinty.Toomey’s reelection in 2016 was settled after what turned out to be the most expensive Senate race in history after groups from outside the state funnelled money into Toomey’s campaign and that of his Democratic candidate, Katie McGinty. The race saw $113 million and showed just how valuable a single seat in the Senate can be for either party. Toomey won by getting just over 1% more votes than McGinty.
The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported that Toomey will be announcing a decision to retire tomorrow. The senator isn’t expected to run for governor in 2022, though he was considered the front-runner GOP candidate for the gubernatorial office.The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported that Toomey will be announcing a decision to retire tomorrow. The senator isn’t expected to run for governor in 2022, though he was considered the front-runner GOP candidate for the gubernatorial office.
A reporter for Vice News said on Twitter that, among potential replacements Pennsylvania Republicans have floated the idea of Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, of running for the seat. Trump has never held elected office before.A reporter for Vice News said on Twitter that, among potential replacements Pennsylvania Republicans have floated the idea of Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, of running for the seat. Trump has never held elected office before.
Though Joe Biden’s campaign promised last night to release the results of every Covid test the former vice president takes, his campaign has yet to release a test result since Friday, when Biden tested negative.Though Joe Biden’s campaign promised last night to release the results of every Covid test the former vice president takes, his campaign has yet to release a test result since Friday, when Biden tested negative.
The campaign has gone ahead and released Biden’s schedule for tomorrow, which includes two in-person events.The campaign has gone ahead and released Biden’s schedule for tomorrow, which includes two in-person events.
Biden will be in Miami for an in-person event at a Haitian cultural center and will speak in Miami’s Little Havana. Jill Biden will be attending a Women for Biden rally in Boca Raton.Biden will be in Miami for an in-person event at a Haitian cultural center and will speak in Miami’s Little Havana. Jill Biden will be attending a Women for Biden rally in Boca Raton.
Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, and a handful of faith leaders close to the White House will be holding a “call to prayer” for the president and the first lady at 5pm tonight.Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, and a handful of faith leaders close to the White House will be holding a “call to prayer” for the president and the first lady at 5pm tonight.
The faith leaders will include Paula White-Cain, Trump’s evangelical spiritual advisor who also runs a megachurch in Florida. The prayer will be held virtually.The faith leaders will include Paula White-Cain, Trump’s evangelical spiritual advisor who also runs a megachurch in Florida. The prayer will be held virtually.
This is Lauren Aratani taking over for Amanda Holpuch. White House director of strategic communication Alyssa Farah implied that Sean Conley, the White House doctor who is overseeing Donald Trump, was trying to “project confidence” when saying yesterday that “the president is doing very well” despite contradictory reports that came out moments later.This is Lauren Aratani taking over for Amanda Holpuch. White House director of strategic communication Alyssa Farah implied that Sean Conley, the White House doctor who is overseeing Donald Trump, was trying to “project confidence” when saying yesterday that “the president is doing very well” despite contradictory reports that came out moments later.
Farah, speaking to reporters, said that Conley was giving “a snapshot in time” and that, on Saturday, Donald Trump was doing “extremely well”.Farah, speaking to reporters, said that Conley was giving “a snapshot in time” and that, on Saturday, Donald Trump was doing “extremely well”.
She dove into an explanation into Conley’s mindset when treating the president: “When you’re treating a patient, you want to project confidence, you want to lift their spirits and that was the intent.”She dove into an explanation into Conley’s mindset when treating the president: “When you’re treating a patient, you want to project confidence, you want to lift their spirits and that was the intent.”
PBS Newshour White House correspondent, Yamiche Alcindor, reports that Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, have tested negative for coronavirus today.PBS Newshour White House correspondent, Yamiche Alcindor, reports that Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, have tested negative for coronavirus today.
Despite Trump and others in his inner circle testing positive for the virus, Pence is scheduled to continue making public appearances on behalf of the White House and on behalf of the Trump 2020 presidential campaign. The first vice-presidential debate is Wednesday.Despite Trump and others in his inner circle testing positive for the virus, Pence is scheduled to continue making public appearances on behalf of the White House and on behalf of the Trump 2020 presidential campaign. The first vice-presidential debate is Wednesday.
There are some who are concerned Pence should be taking extra precautions because he is first in the line of succession should Trump become unable to perform his presidential duties.There are some who are concerned Pence should be taking extra precautions because he is first in the line of succession should Trump become unable to perform his presidential duties.
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday that he did not have concerns about Pence’s travel.Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday that he did not have concerns about Pence’s travel.
“The vice president takes it very serious all of these measures,” Miller said. “Anyone around the vice president are tested. People are kept very safe.”“The vice president takes it very serious all of these measures,” Miller said. “Anyone around the vice president are tested. People are kept very safe.”
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has just announced his intentions to reverse the reopening of nine neighborhoods after they had a Covid-19 testing positivity rate above 3% for the past seven days.New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has just announced his intentions to reverse the reopening of nine neighborhoods after they had a Covid-19 testing positivity rate above 3% for the past seven days.
The mayor said he wants to close nonessential business and schools in the South Brooklyn and Central Queens neighborhoods. The state government must approve such a move and de Blasio said city officials would meet with the officials in the hopes of having the closures begin on Wednesday.The mayor said he wants to close nonessential business and schools in the South Brooklyn and Central Queens neighborhoods. The state government must approve such a move and de Blasio said city officials would meet with the officials in the hopes of having the closures begin on Wednesday.
De Blasio said the plan was “to rewind in these nine ZIP codes, to rewind, to go back, to address the problems by using the tools we know work.”De Blasio said the plan was “to rewind in these nine ZIP codes, to rewind, to go back, to address the problems by using the tools we know work.”
The areas affected include portions of Far Rockaway, Borough Park, Midwood, Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay and Kew Gardens. Many of them have large populations of Orthodox Jews and health officials have targeted outreach to try and manage outbreaks in those communities.The areas affected include portions of Far Rockaway, Borough Park, Midwood, Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay and Kew Gardens. Many of them have large populations of Orthodox Jews and health officials have targeted outreach to try and manage outbreaks in those communities.
New York City was a center of the global outbreak in the spring, but had seen some relief in recent months. The state’s infection rate had been below 1% for 37 days straight as of 13 September but health officials were on alert last week as cases increased in some areas.New York City was a center of the global outbreak in the spring, but had seen some relief in recent months. The state’s infection rate had been below 1% for 37 days straight as of 13 September but health officials were on alert last week as cases increased in some areas.
Experts react to latest briefing by Trump’s doctorsExperts react to latest briefing by Trump’s doctors
Dr Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician at the Medical University of South Carolina, is among those with questions following the latest briefing of the president’s doctors.Dr Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician at the Medical University of South Carolina, is among those with questions following the latest briefing of the president’s doctors.
She is one of those trying to understand how the president might be discharged tomorrow after he has been experiencing oxygen level drops and is on steroids.She is one of those trying to understand how the president might be discharged tomorrow after he has been experiencing oxygen level drops and is on steroids.
Kuppalli also makes the point steroids can cause delirium or confusion in patients and says she is “curious as to why @VP is not currently in charge”.Kuppalli also makes the point steroids can cause delirium or confusion in patients and says she is “curious as to why @VP is not currently in charge”.
An odd quote from Sean Conley during his update on Donald Trump’s health. “I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction,” Conley said when explaining his reluctance to say Trump had been on oxygen earlier this week. I assume Conley means coverage of Trump’s illness, rather than the illness itself.An odd quote from Sean Conley during his update on Donald Trump’s health. “I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction,” Conley said when explaining his reluctance to say Trump had been on oxygen earlier this week. I assume Conley means coverage of Trump’s illness, rather than the illness itself.
Dr Brian Garibaldi’s statement that Trump may be OK to return home to the White House may come back to haunt the administration. If Trump isn’t released tomorrow, it will appear his condition has worsened. There is speculation it is Trump himself who is pushing for an early release.Dr Brian Garibaldi’s statement that Trump may be OK to return home to the White House may come back to haunt the administration. If Trump isn’t released tomorrow, it will appear his condition has worsened. There is speculation it is Trump himself who is pushing for an early release.
Some of the things the medical team didn’t say are interesting, particularly because Donald Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, admitted that he was not completely forthcoming yesterday on the use of oxygen to treat the president. And then admitted that he and the White House chief of staff Mark Meadows gave conflicting messages on the president’s health. It doesn’t give the public much faith that we can take everything the president’s medical staff says as a gold standard on Trump’s health.
It’s worth remembering that Covid-19 can, and does, have serious implications for people’s health even if it does not kill them. And that includes people who were perfectly healthy before being diagnosed. IT should, of course, be noted that the president’s medical team are no doubt giving Trump the best medical care available and it is quite likely he could be on the road to a full recovery. The problem at the moment is the message still appears garbled.
Perhaps significantly, Conley does not answer questions about results of lung scans on the president or whether he has had pneumonia.
CNN’s medical expert, Dr Sanjay Gupta, says some of the steroids given to the president are used to treat lung conditions. Of course, doctors may just be throwing everything they can at Trump because he is the president but questions are being raised on Twitter by people with more medical knowledge than myself.
Conley is asked by reporters about the contrasting reports of Trump’s health yesterday. Conley had been upbeat about the president’s health, while White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said there was a high-level of concern. Conley says Meadows’s remarks were “misconstrued” and the chief of staff was referring to Trump’s report before he was admitted to hospital.
Another doctor, Sean Dooley, gives further details. He says the president “remains without fever since Friday morning” and is “not complaining of shortness of breath”. Dooley says the president is “walking around” and his “cardiac, liver and pulmonary condition” is not a cause for concern.
Another member of the team, Dr Brian Garabaldi, says the president may be released tomorrow.
“He has been up and around. Our plan today is to have him eat and drink, be up out of bed,” Garibaldi said. “If he continues to look and feel as well as he does today our hope is to plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course.”
Donald Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, says the president has “continued to improve” since the last medical update on Saturday.
Conley then addresses the fact that he would not be drawn yesterday on whether the president had needed oxygen. He says on Friday morning, the president experienced a drop in oxygen levels and needed to be given supplemental oxygen at the White House for about an hour.
“Over the course of his illness, the President has experienced two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation. We debated the reasons for this, and whether we’d even intervene. It was a determination of the team based on the timeline from the initial diagnosis that we initiate [steroid] dexamethasone,” Conley said.
Conley is asked if Trump has been given oxygen since. Conley says he will have to check with nurses. Surely as Trump’s doctor he would know such things? That sounds like an evasion to me.
As we wait for an update from Donald Trump’s medical team on his health, the White House national security adviser said the president will stay in hospital for now.
“I spoke with the chief of staff this morning, and the good news is that the president feels very well and he actually wants to get back home to the White House and get back to work, but I think he’s going to stay at Walter Reed [hospital[ for at least another period of time,” Robert O’Brien told CBS’s Face the Nation.
O’Brien tested positive for Covid-19 himself in July. He said the next week would be important for Trump’s health. “I think the doctors want to make sure that they’re there for the president and he’s getting the best treatment, but he’s doing well,” he said.
O’Brien said that transferring power to Mike Pence is “not on the table” at the moment. “[Trump is] doing very well and just like it could happen to anybody, but we’re prepared, we have a great vice president, we have a government that is steady,” said O’Brien.
On Thursday afternoon Donald Trump held a roundtable of 19 top Republican donors at Bedminster, his 36-hole golf course in New Jersey, where he vented his frustrations about how his push for a rapid vaccine against Covid-19 was being undermined by the deep state.
According to a description of the meeting recorded on video by one of the donors present, “the president said that the approval for vaccines has been slowed down for political reasons by people who wanted to hurt him”.
The president’s attack on scientists within his own administration seems to have impressed the donors around the table. But what they didn’t know at that time, because Trump did not tell them, was that just a few hours earlier one of Trump’s closest aides, Hope Hicks, had herself tested positive for the disease.
As Trump embarks on a personal battle against coronavirus, having received his own positive result in the early hours of Friday and now having gone to hospital, expressions of concern have flooded in from around the world. Political animosities that have been raging across the country have temporarily been suspended as adversaries wish the president and the also infected first lady a speedy recovery.
But the outpouring of goodwill has not prevented questions being asked about how, when and why the president contracted this potentially life-threatening illness that has already claimed the lives of at least 208,000 Americans. At the center of these inquiries is the Bedminster fundraising event, which the White House allowed to go ahead even after it became known that Hicks had fallen ill.
You can read the full article below:
Donald Trump’s medical team, headed by his doctor Sean Conley, are expected to give a briefing on the president’s health in the next hour.
Joe Biden adviser Symone Sanders appeared on CNN’s State of the Union and said she was not concerned the former vice-president had been exposed to Covid-19 during last week’s presidential debate.
Sanders said that Biden had been at least six feet away from Trump, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, at all times.
“On the debate stage President Trump mocked Vice president Biden for his wearing of a mask. Many folks have mocked our events, our six-feet circles, our little white circles on the ground, those are there to keep folks safe,” Sanders said.
She also said the Biden campaign wished Trump well in his recovery from Covid-19.
“We extend our thoughts and prayers to President Trump and the first lady. We are sincerely hoping that the President makes a very quick recovery and we can see him on the campaign trial soon,” she said. “No, we haven’t heard to my knowledge from the Trump campaign or the White House, but the reality is that Vice President Biden was not exposed.”
One man was not surprised by revelations that Donald Trump does not deserve his reputation as a preternaturally successful businessman and deal maker. The man who helped create the illusion.
Tony Schwartz spent hundreds of hours with Trump to ghostwrite his bestselling 1987 book The Art of the Deal, effectively creating the origin story of the brash property tycoon. It was Schwartz who coined the phrase “truthful hyperbole”, which neatly foreshadowed Trump and his supporters’ attempts to rationalize many of his false and misleading claims.
The 68-year-old writer has long disowned the president as a malignant narcissist and expressed regret for his part in constructing the mythology. So the New York Times report, detailing chronic financial losses and vast outstanding loans, confirmed his view that Trump was always better at cutting fantasy deals than making real ones.
“It’s the ultimate unmasking of the emperor with no clothes,” Schwartz said by phone from Riverdale in the Bronx, New York. “There’s nothing more important to Trump than being seen as very, very rich, which is why he’s expended so much effort in trying to claim a net worth far beyond what he actually was worth.
“The fact the evidence is unequivocal that he was not the person he claimed to be means that he’s lost the central premise on which he’s based his own self-worth, because Trump confuses personal worth with net worth. There’s nothing Trump hates more than to feel weak and vulnerable and like a failure, so he won’t allow himself to acknowledge those feelings, but they’ll be there and they will affect him.
“Unfortunately, should he be re-elected, one of the ways he’ll respond to that is he’ll take it out on everyone who he thinks diminished or belittled him along the way.”
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