To say that updates about the president’s health are the most important story in the world right now would be an understatement. We have had plenty of these updates from the White House, but no one is sure if they are true.
The public was initially told on Friday that President Trump was being taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center out of an abundance of caution. This explanation made sense. After all, if anything were to go wrong, Trump should be in a position to receive the best care immediately. However, we were assured that Trump was not yet in need of that care and that all measures being taken by his physicians were purely preventative.
But the story became muddled during a press conference with Trump’s doctors outside Walter Reed on Saturday morning. Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley once again assured the public that Trump was in good spirits and that he had been fever-free for 24 hours. But when asked about what treatments Trump had received, Conley became dodgy — especially with regard to whether Trump had received supplemental oxygen. This was the first red flag that suggested there was more to this story.
The second red flag came in the form of an anonymous statement from someone “familiar with the president’s health.” White House reporters were informed on Saturday that the president’s “vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery,” the source said.
This statement directly contradicted what Conley had said earlier that morning, and it came from none other than White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who was caught on camera asking a few pool reporters to “go off the record” just a short while before the statement was released, according to the Associated Press.
So, who’s telling the truth: Meadows or Conley? The answer to that question is extremely important, and the White House ought to clarify it immediately. Anything less would look like a cover-up.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’re going to get the truth any time soon. Because just a few hours later, Meadows sang a much different tune in an interview with Reuters.
“The president is doing very well,” Meadows said. “He is up and about and asking for documents to review. The doctors are very pleased with his vital signs. I have met with him on multiple occasions today on a variety of issues.”
We also have reason to question the timeline the White House has provided. Conley said Saturday morning that Trump was 72 hours into his diagnosis, which would mean that Trump tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, the day after his first presidential debate with Joe Biden. If that is true, Trump deliberately traveled to a Minnesota rally and fundraiser later on Wednesday, began receiving treatment on Thursday, and attended another donor roundtable later that evening.
But then, Conley walked back his statement and said that he had misspoken. Trump was not diagnosed 72 hours ago, he said in a follow-up statement. “This morning while summarizing the President’s health, I incorrectly used the term ‘seventy two hours’ instead of ‘day three’ and ‘forty eight hours’ instead of ‘day two’ with regards to his diagnosis and the administration of the polyclonal antibody therapy,” Conley said on Saturday afternoon.
We have no reason not to believe Conley when he says he misspoke. But these are serious contradictions that not only undermine the credibility of the White House, but shake the confidence of the American public. Like him or not, Trump is our president. He is the leader of this nation, and if his health is in danger, we ought to know. But right now, no one knows who or what to believe.
