Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows says in a new book that Trump tested positive for Covid on Sept. 26, three days before the debate and before his diagnosis was revealed.
Kabar Medsos – Former President Donald Trump is denying that he tested positive for Covid days before his first presidential debate against Joe Biden and before his diagnosis was revealed to the public.
Trump’s statement came in response to a report by The Guardian that Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has written in a new book, “The Chief’s Chief,” that Trump tested positive for Covid on Sept. 26 of last year, three days before the first presidential debate in Cleveland.
“The story of me having COVID prior to, or during, the first debate is Fake News,”Trump said in a statement Wednesday morning. “In fact, a test revealed that I did not have COVID prior to the debate.”
Trump’s first positive result, Meadows wrote, came the same day that the president held a Rose Garden event to announce he would nominate Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, according to The Guardian. More than 150 people attended the Rose Garden event, many of whom did not wear masks or practice social distancing, and a number of attendees later tested positive.
Meadows said Trump also had a negative test that day shortly after the positive one, the newspaper reported. NBC News has not seen a copy of Meadows’ memoir to independently verify the report.
Meadows wrote in his book that while the rules for the Sept. 29 debate said each candidate was required “to test negative for the virus within seventy two hours of the start time … Nothing was going to stop [Trump] from going out there,” according to The Guardian.
It was a few days later, on Oct. 2, that Trump announced he and First lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid. Aides initially said the president was experiencing “mild symptoms,” but then he was moved to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that evening.
Trump was later questioned about the timeline of his Covid test during an NBC News town hall. At the Oct. 15 event, Trump told moderator Savannah Guthrie that his first positive Covid test came Oct. 1, saying, “That’s when I first found out about it.” But when pressed further, he gave vague answers about whether he was tested before taking the debate stage given that the rules requested he and Biden come with a negative result.
Asked if he took a Covid test on the day of the Sept. 29 debate, Trump said, “I probably did, and I took a test the day before, and the day before, and I was always in great shape, and I was in great shape for the debate.”
The evening of the debate, city and clinic officials in Cleveland said at least 11 positive coronavirus tests could be traced to members of the media or organizers of the event. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway also tested positive for Covid on Oct. 2. A day later, former Gov. Chris Christie, who attended the Rose Garden event and prepped Trump for his debate, said he was in the hospital after testing positive for Covid earlier in the day.
On Oct. 3, Meadows said in an interview that Trump’s condition took a turn for the worse when his blood oxygen level suddenly dropped, indicating the president’s condition was worse than he and his aides had made public.
Trump returned to the White House on Oct. 5 after receiving the experimental monoclonal antibody treatment at Walter Reed. That day, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and two of her deputies tested positive for Covid. In addition to 11 people tied to the president contracting Covid during that time period, three GOP senators also tested positive.
Trump membantah dites positif Covid beberapa hari sebelum debat presiden pertama
Mantan kepala staf Gedung Putih Mark Meadows mengatakan dalam sebuah buku baru bahwa Trump dinyatakan positif Covid pada 26 September, tiga hari sebelum debat dan sebelum diagnosisnya terungkap.
Kabar Medsos – Mantan Presiden Donald Trump membantah dirinya dinyatakan positif Covid beberapa hari sebelum debat presiden pertamanya melawan Joe Biden dan sebelum diagnosisnya terungkap ke publik.
Pernyataan Trump muncul sebagai tanggapan atas laporan The Guardian yang ditulis oleh kepala staf Gedung Putih Trump Mark Meadows dalam sebuah buku baru, “The Chief’s Chief,” bahwa Trump dinyatakan positif mengidap Covid pada 26 September tahun lalu, tiga hari sebelumnya. debat presiden pertama di Cleveland.
“Kisah saya menderita COVID sebelum, atau selama, debat pertama adalah Berita Palsu,” kata Trump dalam sebuah pernyataan Rabu pagi. “Faktanya, sebuah tes mengungkapkan bahwa saya tidak memiliki COVID sebelum debat.”
Hasil positif pertama Trump, tulis Meadows, datang pada hari yang sama ketika presiden mengadakan acara Rose Garden untuk mengumumkan bahwa dia akan mencalonkan Amy Coney Barrett untuk menggantikan Ruth Bader Ginsburg di Mahkamah Agung, menurut The Guardian. Lebih dari 150 orang menghadiri acara Rose Garden, banyak di antaranya tidak memakai masker atau mempraktikkan jarak sosial, dan sejumlah peserta kemudian dinyatakan positif.
Meadows mengatakan Trump juga menjalani tes negatif hari itu tak lama setelah yang positif, lapor surat kabar itu. NBC News belum melihat salinan memoar Meadows untuk memverifikasi laporan secara independen.
Meadows menulis dalam bukunya bahwa sementara aturan untuk debat 29 September mengatakan setiap kandidat diharuskan “untuk dites negatif untuk virus dalam waktu tujuh puluh dua jam dari waktu mulai … Tidak ada yang akan menghentikan [Trump] untuk keluar dari sana,” menurut The Guardian.
Beberapa hari kemudian, pada 2 Oktober, Trump mengumumkan bahwa dia dan Ibu Negara Melania Trump telah dites positif untuk Covid. Ajudan awalnya mengatakan presiden mengalami “gejala ringan”, tetapi kemudian dia dipindahkan ke Pusat Medis Militer Nasional Walter Reed malam itu.
Trump kemudian ditanyai tentang garis waktu tes Covid-nya di balai kota NBC News. Pada acara 15 Oktober itu, Trump memberi tahu moderator Savannah Guthrie bahwa tes positif Covid pertamanya datang pada 1 Oktober, dengan mengatakan, “Saat itulah saya pertama kali mengetahuinya.” Namun ketika didesak lebih jauh, dia memberikan jawaban samar tentang apakah dirinya diuji sebelum menempuh tahap debat mengingat aturan meminta dia dan Biden datang dengan hasil negatif.
Ditanya apakah dia mengikuti tes Covid pada hari debat 29 September, Trump berkata, “Saya mungkin melakukannya, dan saya mengikuti tes sehari sebelumnya, dan sehari sebelumnya, dan saya selalu dalam kondisi prima, dan saya sehat. dalam kondisi sangat baik untuk debat.”
Malam debat, pejabat kota dan klinik di Cleveland mengatakan setidaknya 11 tes positif virus corona dapat ditelusuri ke anggota media atau penyelenggara acara. Penasihat Gedung Putih Kellyanne Conway juga dinyatakan positif Covid pada 2 Oktober. Sehari kemudian, mantan Gubernur Chris Christie, yang menghadiri acara Rose Garden dan mempersiapkan Trump untuk debat, mengatakan dia berada di rumah sakit setelah dites positif Covid sebelumnya. di hari.
Pada 3 Oktober, Meadows mengatakan dalam sebuah wawancara bahwa kondisi Trump memburuk ketika tingkat oksigen darahnya tiba-tiba turun, menunjukkan kondisi presiden lebih buruk daripada yang dia dan para pembantunya umumkan.
Trump kembali ke Gedung Putih pada 5 Oktober setelah menerima pengobatan antibodi monoklonal eksperimental di Walter Reed. Hari itu, sekretaris pers Gedung Putih Kayleigh McEnany dan dua wakilnya dinyatakan positif Covid. Selain 11 orang terkait dengan presiden yang tertular Covid selama periode itu, tiga senator GOP juga dinyatakan positif.
