Donald Trump took a drive on Sunday night to greet supporters who had turned up outside Walter Reed Hospital. – Madness, says a doctor at the hospital.
US President Donald Trump has been admitted to the military hospital since late Friday night and is receiving treatment for covid-19.
On Sunday, he appeared in a black car outside the hospital, where he waved to several supporters present wearing bandages.
In a video posted on Twitter just minutes before, Trump said he would pay a “surprise visit” to people outside the hospital.
– I think we will give a little surprise to the great patriots on the street, they have been out there for a while. They have been out there for a long time, and they have Trump flags and everything, he said in the video greeting.
Watch the video here:
In the video, Trump also thanked for the support he has received, and for the help from the staff at the hospital after he was admitted.
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It has not been announced when Trump may be discharged, and the White House reports that the president has returned to the hospital after the short drive, which was decided at the last minute, writes CNN.
“The president took a short drive to wave to his supporters outside and has now returned to the presidential suite inside Walter Reed,” spokesman Judd Deere told the channel.
Doctor at the hospital: – This is madness
Trump’s ride has been criticized by the medical community, and several point out that the president may have put the people who protect him in danger. In the car with Trump, there were at least two employees of the Secret Service, writes American media.
A doctor who works at the hospital where Trump has been hospitalized in recent days, Dr. James P. Phillips, writes on Twitter that there is a very high risk of infection inside the car Trump put in. He writes that the car is not only bulletproof, but hermetically sealed to prevent chemical attacks.
– The risk of covid-19 infection is as high as it can be, except during medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astonishing. My thoughts go to the employees of the Secret Service who are forced to participate, writes Phillips.
The doctor is the regular head of emergency medicine at George Washington University Emergency Medicine.
He also writes that everyone who was in the car during the “totally unnecessary” drive must be quarantined for 14 days.
– They can get sick. They can die. Commanded by Trump to endanger his life in a theater. This is madness, he writes.
A spokesman for the Secret Service does not want to comment on how the president’s drive may have affected the health and safety of their employees, writes ABC.