Trump was so weak from Covid he could barely carry his hospital bag, book claims

Severity of Trump’s infection was allegedly concealed at the time, with his press secretary claiming that he showed only ‘mild symptoms’

Former president Donald Trump was so weak from coronavirus infection last October that he dropped his overnight bag at the hospital after carrying it for no more than a few feet, according to a new book.

"At the hospital, Trump grabbed his small overnight bag and carried it inside. But he had been so weakened, the president dropped the bag after a few feet,” wrote Michael Bender, in his new book ‘Frankly, We Did Win This Election’: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost.

“When it fell to the floor, the doctors, aides, and law enforcement officers around Trump all seemed to take a step back. It appeared to Trump as if they were nervous about his infection and didn’t want to touch his belongings,” Bender wrote, according to new excerpts published by RawStory on Friday.

“But at that moment, [his chief of staff Mark] Meadows stepped forward, picked it up, and carried it to his room,” wrote Bender. “‘That’s when I knew you’re my guy,’ Trump would tell him later.”

Describing the evening before Mr Trump was taken to the Walter Reed national military medical centre, Bender wrote that the severity of Mr Trump’s condition was largely shrouded.

“Waiting for him outside was a gaggle of White House reporters nervous about what was about to happen. The severity of Trump’s condition was still being concealed -- a statement from [White House press secretary Kayleigh] McEnany announcing the departure repeated the fib that Trump had only ‘mild symptoms’. But Trump was clearly infected, probably contagious, and the White House’s record on health protocols was getting worse instead of better,” said Bender in his book.

He wrote that the White House correspondents “made a pact that if Trump did approach them, they would insist he maintain his distance from them”.

But Trump walked through the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room doors in a dark suit, a light blue tie, and with a black cloth mark over his face. “He flashed a thumbs-up to reporters, walked past, and boarded Marine One,” said the book.

Media reports later revealed that Mr Trump was much more ill with coronavirus infection in October than the White House publicly admitted at the time.

According to a New York Times report, the then-president had experienced “extremely depressed blood oxygen levels” and officials feared that he was on the verge of being put on a ventilator.

Trump’s team did not comment on those reports at the time, but sources close to the former president denied he was ever seriously ill.