Republican President Donald Trump on Friday prepared to return to the campaign trail with a pair of weekend rallies after his COVID-19 diagnosis sidelined him for a week in the race against Democratic nominee Joe Biden for the White House.
Gloria Tso reports.
Just a week after his COVID-19 diagnosis, U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News Thursday (October 8) he may be returning to campaign rallies as early as this weekend.
That came after Trump's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a White House memo Thursday that Trump had responded quote "extremely well" to treatment, adding that "Saturday will be day 10 since Thursday's diagnosis, and based on the trajectory of advanced diagnostics the team has been conducting, I fully anticipate the President's safe return to public engagements at that time." Trump had been hospitalized for treatment Friday, before returning to the White House on Monday.
And in a video posted to Twitter this week, Trump touted his use of an experimental drug from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and said he'd make the treatment available free of charge.
But he did not clarify just how he would do that, or who would cover the cost.
Trump has been itching to return to the campaign trail as he trails Democratic candidate Joe Biden in national polls ahead of the Nov.
3 election.
Earlier Thursday he pulled out of a second debate with Biden after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the October 15 event would be held virtually in light of Trump's diagnosis.
In the interview with Fox he added that he did not believe he was contagious, and was feeling good enough to resume campaign rallies.
Trump's rallies are often held with thousands of people, many unmasked, against the advice of public health professionals.
The White House has declined to say when Trump last tested negative for the virus.
As we round out the last week before Election Day, both presidential candidates are hitting the campaign trail hard in a final push..
