White House chief of staff says Trump could be discharged Monday afternoon, downplays Secret Service infection risk from the president's unnecessary drive around Walter Reed
- White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said President Donald Trump might get discharged from Walter Reed Army Medical Center as early as later this afternoon, doubling down Monday morning on comments made by the president's doctors on Sunday.
- "We are still optimistic that he will be able to return to the White House later today, with his medical professionals making that determination later today," Meadows said in an interview on "Fox & Friends."
- Meadows also downplayed whether Trump put Secret Service agents at risk during his drive-by greeting to supporters outside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
- "They're criticizing, 'Well, he put his Secret Service agent at risk,'" Meadows said. "Well, the Secret Service agent, how do we think that he got here?"
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows doubled down on a notion floated by President Donald Trump's doctors yesterday that the president could be discharged from the hospital as early as today.
"We are still optimistic that he will be able to return to the White House later today, with his medical professionals making that determination later today," Meadows said in an interview on "Fox & Friends."
Trump is still relatively early in his treatment for the coronavirus, with the worst symptoms often hitting patients around 10 to 12 days in.
The president is on heavy doses of various medications that are able to reduce his fever and improve oxygen levels in his blood, but Meadows insisted Trump "continued to improve overnight and is ready to get back to a normal working schedule."
Meadows also commented on whether Trump put Secret Service agents at risk during his drive-by greeting to supporters outside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
"They're criticizing, 'Well, he put his Secret Service agent at risk,'" Meadows said. "Well, the Secret Service agent, how do we think that he got here? We came here in Marine One. The Secret Service agent that is with him, has been with him."
Despite reports that the president's car — known as "The Beast" — had a seal designed to prevent against chemical weapons exposure that would have made coronavirus transmission much more likely, Meadows repeated the White House line that "proper PPE" was enough to protect the agents.