President Trump on Wednesday called contracting COVID-19 a “blessing in d!sguise” as he to-uted the benefits of an experimental dr*g he was given that is not available to the American public.
The president shared a video on social media in which he spoke from the Rose Garden. In the nearly five-minute clip, Trump sang the praises of his treatment regiment, specifically an an*ibody cockta!l made by Regeneron that was given to the White House under a compassionate use agreement.
“For me, I walked in, I didn’t feel good. A short 24 hours later I was feeling great. I wanted to get out of the hospital,” Trump said. “And that’s what I want for everybody. I want everybody to be given the same treatment as your president because I feel great. I feel, like, perfect.”
“So, I think this was a blessing from God that I caught it. This was a blessing in d!sguise,” Trump said. The president cla!med he suggested that he take the Regeneron treatment and that he is now convinced it should be more widely available.
The president said he wants his treatment regimen to be an option for the broader public, and pledged to make it free. It’s unclear what authority Trump would have to make the cost of those dr*gs free for hundreds or thousands of patients. The Regeneron an*ibody cockta!l is still undergoing clinical trials.
Trump was also given the ant!viral dr*g remdesivir and the stero!d dexa-methasone. He has had around-the-clock medical supervision from a team of doctors and has access to resources unavailable to all but a small percentage of Americans.
“So, hopefully, this is going to be not just a therapeutic, it’s going to be much more than a therape-utic,” Trump said. “You’re going to get better, you’re going to get better fast just like I did. So, again, a blessing in d!sguise. Good luck.”COVID-19 has k!lled more than 210,000 people in the U.S. to date and infe-cted millions more.The U.S. has the highest number of reported cases and loss from the v!rus of any country in the world.
The video was the latest attempt for the White House to project optimism about Trump’s condition. In the clip, the president covered other typical talking points, including his belief that a vaccine will be ready soon, that he has p*shed health agencies to speed up their approval processes, and that China will “pay a big price” for the Covid-19 originating there.
The president was d!scha-rged from the hospital Monday. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters the video was sh-ot Tuesday. It did not appear to be done in one take, as there was a visible c-ut roughly two minutes in. Trump has not been seen outside of the video recording since arriving back to the White House from the hospital.
The White House has issued a pair of doctors notes in the past two days that are brief and va-gue but indicate that Trump says he is feeling well and has had sta-ble vi-tal signs. The president returned to the Oval Office on Wednesday for briefings on an incoming hurr!cane and st!mulus talks, despite still being infe-ctious. Trump also tweeted that he spoke to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who contracted COVID-19 earlier this year and spent time in the intensive care unit.
“Very thankful for his friendship and support as I recovered from the China V!rus,” Trump tweeted, using a term that experts say has led to an increase in discr!mination aga!nst Asian Americans. “I am looking forward to working with him for many years to come, a great guy!”
This Article First Published On THEHILL