Donald Trump on Saturday marked his return to the electoral race with a campaign meeting-style speech at the White House, nine days after being tested positive for COVID-19, a disease he is no longer likely to transmit, according to his doctor.
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“Tonight, I am happy to announce that in addition to the fact that the president meets all CDC criteria [autorités sanitaires, NDLR] for a safe end to the isolation, the COVID PCR test this morning shows, with regard to currently recognized standards, that it is no longer considered to be at risk of transmitting [le virus] to other people, ”said Dr Conley in a statement.
According to the press release from Dr Conley, tests have shown that “there is no longer any index of active replication of the virus” and that Mr. Trump’s viral load “is decreasing”. The president does not have a fever and the symptoms he was experiencing have “improved”, he added.
“I’m fine!”, Had also launched a little earlier the American president starting his speech, all smiles, after having removed his mask as soon as he arrived at the microphone. During a twenty-minute intervention, during which he appeared in good shape, he urged his electoral base to go to the polls.
The return to the campaign stands is scheduled for the start of the week, and the pace promises to be intense: Florida Monday, Pennsylvania Tuesday, Iowa Wednesday.
Just over three weeks before the poll, Donald Trump, 74, lags behind in the polls on his Democratic rival Joe Biden, 77.
In front of several hundred people gathered on the lawns of the White House and wearing red caps “Make America Great Again”, the 45e President of the United States once again affirmed that the virus would “disappear”, was “disappearing”.
“I want you to know that our nation is going to defeat this terrible Chinese virus,” he said. “We’re making powerful therapies and drugs, we’re curing the sick, we’re going to get over it and the vaccine is going to come very, very fast.”
In recent days, Sean Conley’s communication has often been criticized as opaque and sloppy.
For months, at the instigation of a president who sometimes mocked the wearing of a mask, the advisers of the White House hardly ever wore one within the famous “West Wing”.
The tone has changed since the news of Donald and Melania Trump’s positive tests. And on Saturday, masks were mandatory for people who came to applaud the president.
Unanswered questions
It is a rally at the White House two weeks ago, to announce the appointment of a conservative judge to the Supreme Court, who has been pointed out as responsible for many contaminations detected since.
This day was obviously a “super-propagator” event, judged immunologist Anthony Fauci, director of the American Institute of Infectious Diseases, and a highly respected figure in the United States.
Many questions remain unanswered about this wave of infections that has affected many of the president’s close associates, including his spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany.
“When was the President’s last negative COVID test?” asked Pete Buttigieg, former candidate in the Democratic primaries against Joe Biden, whose name is regularly cited for a prominent position if Donald Trump is defeated on November 3.
In the latest press release from Dr Conley, it is not stated that President Trump was declared negative.
“More than 213,000 Americans have died from this virus, and the harsh reality is that it could have been avoided,” Joe Biden tweeted Saturday.
The former vice-president of Barack Obama, who is now nearly ten points ahead in national polls and who has also consolidated his advantage in voting intentions at the level of the decisive states for the election, continues his campaign to his rhythm.
In the Republican camp, the concern is more and more palpable. Some tenors are openly alarmed by the evolution of the campaign.
“If on election day people are angry […], we could lose the White House, and both houses of Congress, ”warned Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
“It could be a bloodbath” for the “Grand Old Party”, he added.