Dressed in a navy suit and tie and wearing a face mask,
Trump walked out of Walter Reed on his own. Upon walking out the doors of the
hospital, he made a low fist pump and gave a thumbs up to the press as he
got into a black SUV to head to Marine One.
The president teased his return to the White House Monday
afternoon, saying he is "feeling really good!"
"Don’t be afraid of Covid," the president
tweeted. "Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the
Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge."
He added: "I feel better than I did 20 years
ago!"
Trump appeared to have his reelection campaign at the
forefront of his thoughts shortly before departing Walter Reed, promising his
followers on Twitter that he will be back on the stump soon and blasting polls
that show him trailing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Upon arriving to the White House, the president walked
out on the balcony overlooking the South Lawn, surrounded by American flags,
and saluted military officers and Marine One as it departed.
The president arrived back to the White House
after his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, hosted a press conference
detailing the president’s progress and condition as he battles COVID-19.
"The president may not entirely be out of the woods
yet," Conley said, but said that his "clinical
status supports the president’s safe return home," where he said he
will be surrounded by medical staff “24/7."
Conley added that the president met "most of his
discharge requirements" on Sunday afternoon.
"We try to get patients out of the hospital as
quickly as possible," Conley said. "There is nothing being done here
that we can’t safely do at home.”
He added: "We all remain cautiously optimistic and
on guard because we’re in a bit of uncharted territory when it comes to a
patient who received the therapies he has.”
Conley added that HIPAA prevents him from discussing some
details about the president's health.
Another member of the president’s medical team said that
his heart rate, as of Monday, was measured at 68 beats per minute, and that he
had a 97% blood oxygen level. A normal blood oxygen reading is between 95
and 100%.
Conley also told reporters Monday that the president has
not been on fever-reducing medicine for over 72 hours.
The medical team also said that the president does not
have any “respiratory complaints,” and will receive his fourth round of
Remdesivir before he departs Walter Reed Monday evening. The team said that the
president will receive his final dose of Remdesivir at the White House on
Tuesday.
Conley stressed that Trump will receive "world
class medical care" at the White House, saying "we're not going to
miss anything we would have caught up here," while maintaining that the
president is “back.”
The president was admitted to Walter Reed on Friday
evening after experiencing what the White House, at the time, described as
“mild symptoms.”
Conley said that the president was "a little
dehydrated" on Friday, upon being admitted to Walter Reed, and had a
fever.
On Friday, according to a White House
official, there was “real concern” about his “vitals.”
The president also has faced health scares throughout his
battle with COVID-19, including two instances in which his blood oxygen level
dropped suddenly. Doctors treated the president with a dose of the steroid
dexamethasone in response.
Conley said that Trump had a “high fever” and a blood
oxygen level below 94% on Friday and during “another episode” on Saturday.
But by Saturday, Conley said the president’s cardiac,
kidney and liver functions were normal, and that the president was not on
oxygen and was not having any difficulty breathing or walking.
Conley said over the weekend that the president had
received an antibody cocktail, as well as zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine,
melatonin and a daily aspirin, along with his five-day course of
Remdesivir.
Meanwhile, First Lady Melania Trump, who also tested
positive for COVID-19, tweeted Monday, saying she is "feeling good.”
“My family is grateful for all of the prayers &
support!” she tweeted Monday. “I am feeling good & will continue to rest at
home.
"Thank you to medical staff & caretakers
everywhere, & my continued prayers for those who are ill or have a family
member impacted by the virus,” the first lady added.
Also on Monday, White House press secretary Kayleigh
McEnany announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19.
“After testing negative consistently, including every day
since Thursday, I tested positive for COVID-19 on
Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms,” McEnany said in a statement.
“No reporters, producers or members of the press are listed as close
contacts by the White House Medical Unit.”
Other White House staff who have tested positive for
COVID-19 at this point include senior adviser Hope Hicks and director
of Oval Office operations Nick Luna. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien
also tested positive for COVID-19.
Former counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway has
also tested positive and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who
participated in debate prep with the president recently, did too and was
admitted to the hospital over the weekend.
McEnany said Sunday that the White
House would not be releasing the names or the exact number of staffers
who have become infected with the novel coronavirus,
citing privacy concerns.
“There are privacy concerns,” McEnany said. “We take
seriously safeguarding the information of personnel here in the White House.”
The president and first lady announced they tested
positive for COVID-19 early Friday, just before 1 a.m., after it was
revealed that Hicks tested positive on Thursday.
Brooke
Singman is a Politics Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeSingman.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-discharged-from-walter-reed-returns-to-white-house
