Trump news: President rips off his mask as soon as he arrives back at White House after walking out of hospital
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has been discharged from Walter Reed Medical Centre after his doctors declined to reveal key details about his condition and said he wasn't "out of the wood".
Trump didn’t respond to questions as he left the hospital, saying only “thank you” before ignoring a reporter asking how many White House staff were infected and if he was a super spreader of coronavirus.
On arriving at the White House, Trump took off his mask to salute and pose for photos in front of American flags as Marine One took flight.
The president's return to the White House came after he earlier told America not to be afraid of Covid-19 as the country's death toll climbed over 210,000 and the number of positive cases among the president's inner circle reached 16.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and pastor Greg Laurie, who was at the Scotus Rose Garden event, were the two latest to announce a positive diagnosis on Monday.
As he prepared to end his 72-hour hospital stay, Trump began his morning furiously tweeting from his sick bed after attracting widespread condemnation over his “irresponsible” drive-by of supporters on Sunday evening.
"RUDE!!!", the president called it. But the criticisms even came from within the president's circle, with Donald Trump Jr reported by Vanity Fair to want an intervention over the "crazy" motorcade stunt and tweet storm.
The Trump campaign, meanwhile, said their intention is for the president to make the second presidential debate on 15 October, which Joe Biden has also agreed, calling on the president listens to the science and make a nationwide mask rule.
President tweets all-caps rants from hospital about abortion, space and tax
If you missed Trump’s frankly bizarre sick bed Twitter spree early this morning, it was whacky enough for Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, to suggest invoking the 25th Amendment.
Matt Mathers has this recap of the all-caps.
Trump tweets in all caps from hospital about abortion, space and tax
President has been in hospital since Friday after contracting Covid
Latest photos taken with Meadows in the room despite president not wearing mask
Speaking of Trump’s chief of staff, he was apparently in the room with the president at Walter Reed when his latest “back to work” press shots were taken, meaning his own health could well be comprised (as could that of the photographer) because the commander-in-chief was again not wearing a mask.
Gino Spocchia has more details.
Latest Trump photos say Mark Meadows in room - despite president not wearing mask
Two new photos also appeared to be same shot with one providing close-up of president
Rudy Giuliani: 'The president has shown that you don't have to be traumatised, paralysed and incapacitated by Covid’
Trump’s personal attorney has been on Fox and Friends this morning and was already - and surely prematurely - proclaiming a lightning quick recovery from his man.
The ex-NYC mayor also reflected on his extraordinary luck in avoiding the disease himself, having travelled with the Trump entourage last week.
Alec Baldwin defends playing Trump on SNL: ‘If he was truly, gravely ill we wouldn’t have done it’
The actor returned to re-enact last week’s chaotic Ohio debate opposite Jim Carrey as Biden but some were upset by the timing given the news of Trump’s positive diagnosis.
Ellie Harrison has this report.
Alec Baldwin responds to backlash over playing Trump on SNL after president’s coronavirus hospitalisation
Some viewers thought the mockery of the president was in poor taste
Secret Service agents who drove Trump volunteered, Corey Lewandowski says
Speaking to Savannah Guthrie on NBC this morning, the president’s ex-campaign manager said he spoke to Trump for 15 minutes on Saturday night and found him “upbeat” and keen to get back on re-election trail.
Lewandoski also defended last night’s motorcade stunt, commenting:"The detail leader of the Secret Service and the driver both volunteered for that assignment.
“They have very difficult jobs but they were not required to do that, they both volunteered.”
He continued: "There was a piece of plexiglass, I believe, between the president and the two secret service agents in the vehicle.
“This trip was made with consultation of his physicians. They told him this would jeopardize him or anyone in the vehicle.”
The agents though have a rather different perspective on the matter, as James Crump reports.
Secret Service agents attack Trump over hospital drive-by
Mr Trump's former campaign manager claims two Secret Service agents volunteered to drive him
Medical expert says Trump needs ‘psychiatric evaluation’ over hospital ‘joyride’
The condemnation continues to pour in over last night’s little escapade.
“If Donald Trump were my patient, in unstable condition and [with a] contagious illness, and he suddenly left the hospital to go for a car ride that endangers himself and others: I'd call security to restrain him,” CNN medical analyst Dr Leah Wen tweets.
Gino Spocchia has more.
Medical expert says Trump needs psychiatric evaluation over hospital ‘joyride’
Health experts says if president was her patient she would ‘call security to restrain him’
Kayleigh McEnany on her coronavirus diagnosis
And here is the press secretary’s official statement on the positive test, which she says came after multiple negative results over the weekend.
“No reporters, producers or members of the press are listed as close contacts by the White House Medical Unit,” she said.
“Moreover, I definitively had no knowledge of Hope Hick’s diagnosis prior to holding a White House press briefing on Thursday.”
‘She recklessly endangered lives’: Backlash as Kayleigh McEnany tests positive for coronavirus
The Independent’s Danielle Zoellner has more on this breaking story as reporters express concern over talking to the White House press secretary without a mask.
Backlash as Kayleigh McEnany tests positive for coronavirus after briefing media without mask
Ms McEnany briefed press on Friday and Sunday without wearing a mask
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