Trump’s COVID Was Worse Than Originally Reported

When Donald Trump went to the hospital in early October a month before the presidential election, his medical team tried to downplay the severity of his condition in comments to the public. But  Trump had a much more serious case of the coronavirus in October than the public was told at the time, it was revealed on Thursday.

After contracting Covid-19, Trump had “extremely depressed blood oxygen levels at one point and a lung problem associated with pneumonia caused by the coronavirus,” The New York Times reported, citing four people familiar with his condition.

Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean P. Conley, repeatedly downplayed concerns during his illness. But Trump’s condition was so poor, in fact, that officials believed he would be put on a ventilator before he was taken from the White House to Walter Reed Military Hospital. Trump’s blood oxygen level alone was cause for extreme concern, dipping into the 80s, according to the people familiar with his evaluation. The disease is considered severe when the blood oxygen level falls to the low 90s.

Trump had participated in an in-person debate with then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden just two days before disclosing he had Covid.

Trump's Covid prognosis "became so worrisome before he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that officials believed he would need to be put on a ventilator" https://t.co/hRPn59i2Zn

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 11, 2021

 

After Trump was hospitalized, he began a regimen for a steroid, dexamethasone, which is usually recommended only for Covid-19 patients who have severe or critical forms of the disease, often those who need ventilation or supplemental oxygen. He left Walter Reed just three days after receiving those experimental treatments.

That we didn't know this at the time is an indication of just how widespread the corruption was surrounding Trump at every level, including at Walter Reed. https://t.co/WbS7XTo82g

— Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) February 11, 2021