Dr Sean Conley updated Americans on the president's health and was upbeat about his condition
Credit: REUTERS
Then the president’s doctor said Mr Trump was “72 hours” into his diagnosis, meaning if taken literally that he tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, not Thursday as had been previously briefed.
Had the president really travelled to New Jersey on Thursday for a fund-raiser when he knew he had a Covid-19 and only told the public after midnight Thursday?
Then the doctor, Dr Sean P Conley, rushed out a statement saying he misspoke. He meant day three, not 72 hours, with Thursday being day one, Friday day two and Saturday day three.
Finally there was an alarming twist. A “source familiar with the president’s health” issued a stark comment saying Mr Trump’s vitals were “very concerning” in the last 24 hours and the next 48 hours were “critical".
The remark was circulated through the White House pool, which is a small group of reporters assigned to follow the president around each day and let other journalists know what happens with regular updates.
In other words, it was a formal channel used by the White House. And, it has later been widely reported, the quotation came from Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff.
It begs the question — if the president’s health is as Mr Meadows reportedly described why did the doctors not tell the nation that in their briefing?
And also if, as the New York Times and Associated Press have reported, Mr Trump was indeed given supplementary oxygen on Friday night why did the doctors not just say that?
A charitable interpretation for the White House would be that they were trying to offer a reassuring message to the public on camera, while giving a clear picture off-the-record.
But this is the Commander-in-Chief’s health. The public deserves accurate information. And a whole lot of confusion had been created when it could have been easily avoided.
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