The White House said President Trump’s decision to break his coronavirus quarantine to wave hello to supporters was deemed “safe to do.”
In a statement released Sunday night, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere defended the president’s decision to leave Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to ride in his presidential motorcade and wave to supporters, a move critics said unnecessarily put Secret Service agents at risk to the illness.
“Appropriate precautions were taken in the execution of this movement to protect the President and all those supporting it, including PPE,” said Deere. “The movement was cleared by the medical team as safe to do.”
Trump hinted that he was going to make a “little surprise visit” to the “patriots out there on the street” in a video statement released on social media before footage emerged of Trump, wearing a mask, waving at the cheering crowd from his motorcade. Footage of the event showed an agent wearing a full medical gown, a face-mask, and protective eye-gear.
Trump drives by the press and supporters outside Walter Reed hospital. pic.twitter.com/3phtKthqTH
— Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) October 4, 2020
Dr. James Phillips, the attending physician at Walter Reed, criticized the president for the stunt.
“Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential ‘drive-by’ just now has to be quarantined for 14 days,” he tweeted. “They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity.”
“That Presidential SUV is not only bulletproof, but hermetically sealed against chemical attack. The risk of COVID-19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play,” he added.
The president departed the White House for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday. On Sunday, Trump’s medical team said the commander in chief’s health continues to improve following his coronavirus diagnosis and that he might be discharged from the hospital as early as Monday.
