White House doctor says he left out details of Trump's illness to reflect president's 'upbeat attitude'
White House physician Dr. Sean Conley and Dr. Brian Garibaldi of Johns Hopkins University provided another update Sunday on President Trump's health as he remains hospitalized at Walter Reed with the coronavirus.
Garibaldi said Trump "feels well" and was moving around Sunday morning. That's raised hopes, Garibaldi said, that "we can plan for a discharge as early as" Monday, so the president can continue his treatment at the White House, though there's no guarantee that will happen.
Conley addressed the confusion sparked by his earlier comments about Trump's health, which clashed with a more concerning description from White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Conley acknowledged that Trump did, as Meadows said, require supplemental oxygen on Friday, and said he previously refrained from providing specific details to "reflect" Trump's "upbeat attitude," which he admitted came across as if "we were trying to hide something." Conley added that he "didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction." The explanation hasn't exactly reassured some of the administration's critics, however.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It was already known Trump was receiving the antiviral drug remdesivir, but Conley said Sunday that he has been given the steroid dexamethasone as well, which has led to more speculation about the severity of the president's infection. Tim O'Donnell
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Exploring ancient forests on three continentsThe Week Recommends Reconnecting with historic nature across the world
-
How oil tankers have been weaponisedThe Explainer The seizure of a Russian tanker in the Atlantic last week has drawn attention to the country’s clandestine shipping network
-
The rise of the spymaster: a ‘tectonic shift’ in Ukraine’s politicsIn the Spotlight President Zelenskyy’s new chief of staff, former head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, is widely viewed as a potential successor
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
