The White House on Saturday night released photos of President Donald Trump continuing to work while being monitored and treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for COVID-19.
Deputy Assistant to the President Judd Deere shared on Twitter a photograph, commenting: “The man never stops working!”
White House Senior Communications Advisor Ben Williamson shared another photo of the president. He commented: “The guy’s a machine. @realDonaldTrump getting work in at Walter Reed.”
Trump, who is 74 years old, said in a video address posted earlier Saturday night to Twitter that after not "feeling so well" when he arrived at the military facility on Friday that he feels "much better now."
He said that the first lady, who is in self-quarantine at the White House, is "doing very well."
'I Very Much Appreciate It'
In his video, Trump thanked "a bipartisan consensus of American people" who have sent him their support as he fights to full recover from the virus. "It’s a beautiful thing to see and I very much appreciate it and I won’t forget it. I promise you that," he said.He also thanked world leaders who have sent their well wishes.
"They know as your leader what I have to go through. But I had no choice because I just didn’t want to stay in the White House. I was given that alternative: stay in the White House, lock yourself in, don’t ever leave, don’t even go to the Oval Office.
"I can’t do that," Trump said. "I had to be out front."
Remdesivir, Experimental Drug
Sean Conley, the president’s physician, said that Trump had completed his second dose of a five-day course of remdesivir—an intravenous antiviral drug sold by Gilead Sciences Inc.—on Saturday evening in a nightly update on the president's condition.“President Trump continues to do well, having made substantial progress since diagnosis,” Conley said in a statement.
“He remains fever free and off supplemental oxygen with a saturation level between 96 and 98% all day. He spent most of the afternoon conducting business, and has been up and moving about the medical suite without difficulty.
“While not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic. The plan for tomorrow is to continue observation in between doses of Remdesivir, closely monitoring his clinical status while fully supporting his conduct of presidential duties.”
The president is also being treated with the experimental Regeneron monoclonal antibody drug REGN-COV2, well as zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin, and aspirin, Conley has said.
Trump said in his address that he has to overcome the virus.
"We’re working hard to get me all the way back—I have to be back because we still have to make America great again,” he said after thanking the doctors and nurses at Walter Reed.
"Get it done. Thank you," the president said.