Biden hits the campaign trail, Trump ‘looking forward’ to debate
WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Donald Trump will quarantine, work and continue his coronavirus treatment at the White House Tuesday after his three-night stay at Water Reed Medical Center in Maryland.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden campaigned in Pennsylvania on Tuesday speaking in Gettysburg to deliver remarks calling on Americans to come together and ‘remind voters that we are in a battle for the soul of the nation.’
Meanwhile, Trump was due to receive a fifth transfusion of the antiviral drug Remdesivir while also being treated with the steroid dexamethasone, according to his doctors, after announcing testing positive for coronavirus early Friday morning. White House physician Dr. Sean Conley stated Trump would have world-class medical care available around the clock.
On Tuesday morning, the president tweeted that he was “FEELING GREAT!”
Later he tweeted: “I am looking forward to the debate on the evening of Thursday, October 15th in Miami. It will be great!”
Trump‘s physician said Tuesday morning that the president did not report any symptoms of coronavirus after spending his first night back at the White House.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said every precaution was being taken to protect the president and his family. Physical access to Trump would be limited and appropriate protective equipment would be worn by those near him.
Trump’s arrival back at the White House raised new questions about how the administration was going to protect other officials, workers and press.
Trump takes the health and safety of those who work for and cover him very seriously, Deere said. The White House works to incorporate current CDC guidelines and best practices to limit COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible on the grounds and when the president is traveling, he said.
Three reporters have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days while covering the White House. On Monday press secretary Kayleigh McEnany released a statement that she had tested positive for coronavirus.
The White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) has placed signs on the door to the press briefing room saying that masks are required for admittance.
The WHCA recommended remote work for all reporters who are not part of the day’s press pool and who don’t have an enclosed work space.
The 13-member press pool, with a rotating cast of electronic and print journalists, is responsible for following the president when he leaves the White House.
As President Trump recovers from the coronavirus, Biden is campaigning in critical battleground states and investing in longtime Republican bastions that he hopes might expand his path to victory.
Biden, who spent more than 90 minutes on the debate stage with Trump last week, tested negative for the virus on Sunday.
The Democratic presidential nominee made his second trip to Florida in a little over two weeks on Monday. Biden will follow up with a trip later this week to Arizona, which hasn’t backed a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996.
Biden said during an NBC town hall Monday night that he was glad Trump seemed to be recovering well, “but there’s a lot to be concerned about — 210,000 people have died. I hope no one walks away with the message that it’s not a problem.”
Biden said Monday that he’d “listen to the science” ahead of the upcoming debates, adding that the campaigns and the commission should be “very cautious” in making plans. “If scientists say that it’s safe, that distances are safe, then I think that’s fine,” he said. “I’ll do whatever the experts say.”
The Biden-Harris campaign requested a plexiglass shield for Wednesday’s vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence. The debate in Salt Lake City is the first and only meeting of the two vice presidential candidates and the first debates since Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis.
Pence’s physician also released a statement Tuesday saying Pence was cleared to travel and does not need to quarantine.
Tune in to NewsNation on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (ET)/ 7 p.m. (CT) for full live coverage of the debate.