President Joe Biden reassured the public he was doing “fine” via Twitter in his first comments since testing positive for COVID-19, presenting himself as “keeping busy” despite the virus.
The 79-year-old president had to scrap a planned trip to Pennsylvania to talk about police funding and gun violence. He had planned to head to Florida on Monday, setting up a possible confrontation with Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 Republican rival.
Folks, I’m doing great. Thanks for your concern. Just called Senator Casey, Congressman Cartwright, and Mayor Cognetti (and my Scranton cousins!) to send my regrets for missing our event today.
Keeping busy! pic.twitter.com/uf7AsOg571
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 21, 2022
“Folks, I’m doing great,” Biden tweeted. “Thanks for your concern.”
The White House announced the positive test earlier Thursday.
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“Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence.”
The White House has said that Biden will isolate for at least five days. He will return to public events after a negative COVID-19 test.
First lady Jill Biden will retain her normal public schedule and go to Wilmington, Delaware, over the weekend while the president remains at the White House. “I talked to him just a few minutes ago. He’s doing fine. He’s feeling good,” she told reporters in Detroit.
Vice President Kamala Harris flashed a thumbs-up sign when asked about the president’s condition. “He is in good spirits,” she told reporters after a phone call with Biden.
In his tweet, Biden said he called some of the elected officials who were going to be on hand for his remarks Thursday, in addition to his “Scranton cousins!” He conveyed his regrets for being unable to make it.
Hours later, Biden tweeted out a video of himself at the White House. “Hey folks, I guess you heard,” he said. “This morning, I tested positive for COVID.” He noted his vaccination status.
“But I’ve been double vaccinated, double boosted,” he said, wearing a jacket and shirt with an open collar. “Symptoms are mild. And I really appreciate your inquiries and concerns. But I’m doing well, getting a lot of work done. Going to continue to get it done.”
An update from me: pic.twitter.com/L2oCR0uUTu
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 21, 2022
Biden had managed to avoid the virus for more than two years. He kept a light public campaign schedule during the 2020 election. The White House followed strict protocols and tested him regularly, though some of these measures were relaxed, such as indoor mask-wearing, as the administration dealt with pandemic fatigue ahead of the midterm elections.
The Democrat owes his presidency to the pandemic. Exit polls showed that he won voters whose top issue was COVID-19 by 66 percentage points. He carried voters who prioritized controlling the outbreak over reopening the economy by 60 points. Mail-in ballots and other related COVID-19 voting protocols helped goose turnout among pandemic-wary voters, helping Biden top 81 million votes nationally.
Former President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic, by contrast, was a turning point against him in his reelection bid. Coronavirus-related shutdowns interrupted the economic boom that had been the centerpiece of his case for a second term.
The pandemic remains one of the few issues in which Biden’s job approval rating exceeds his disapprovals, on average, but voters have gradually turned against strict COVID-19 measures. It remains to be seen whether Biden’s diagnosis influences public opinion in this area.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the main face of the federal government’s pandemic response dating back to the Trump administration, tested positive last month. By now, Harris, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and many other public officials have already contracted the virus. Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki tested positive multiple times.
Biden had avoided COVID-19 until Thursday. He was never listed by the White House as a close contact when any members of his team tested positive.
When Trump tested positive for the virus, he had to leave the White House to seek treatment at Walter Reed. Television cameras captured him walking slowly to a helicopter on the White House lawn for a quick flight to the hospital. Republican operatives feared at the time that the optics would be bad for the sitting president, then locked in a fierce battle for reelection.
Biden’s positive test comes after vaccines and therapeutics are much further along. “He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms,” Jean-Pierre said. “He has begun taking Paxlovid.”
Democrats are already facing a difficult environment in this November’s elections, as Biden’s party tries to defend narrow majorities in both houses of Congress. Biden has tried to keep the virus in the public spotlight. He has called for more COVID-19 funding from Capitol Hill and marked more than 1 million U.S. deaths from the virus.
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The White House has tried to project an image of normalcy in the wake of Biden’s positive test. Biden presented himself as working hard despite his infection. Dr. Ashish Jha, the national COVID-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a briefing that Biden was so busy he “didn’t have time to even finish his breakfast.” Jha said he urged Biden to finish the meal.
“Keeping busy!” he said in his original tweet, above a picture of him seated happily at his desk.
