Trump leaves hospital suite for photo op drive-by in motorcade amid crowds of supporters
Donald Trump has left Walter Reed Medical Centre for a drive-by of the crowds of supporters lining the street outside.
In a new video on Twitter in which he praised the medical staff and the work that they do, he promised to give a surprise to the supporters who had gathered outside the hospital.
The president, wearing a mask, was then seen in the back of a slow moving black SUV, waving to the assembled crowds.
Trump drives by the press and supporters outside Walter Reed hospital. pic.twitter.com/3phtKthqTH
— Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) October 4, 2020
Trump supporters began assembling on Friday evening and have grown in number over the weekend.
Many carry Trump 2020 banner and signs, as well as flags — the Stars and Stripes and Blue Lives Matter are visible.
The small motorcade appeared to loop around as people had gathered on both sides of the street.
So...immediately after releasing a video in which he boasted of his superior real-world knowledge of the coronavirus, Trump had public employees get in a vehicle with him, windows closed, while he is infected with the coronavirus? https://t.co/1Cp3DmKYCx
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 4, 2020
White House spokesman Judd Deere said: "President Trump took a short, last-minute motorcade ride to wave to his supporters outside and has now returned to the Presidential Suite inside Walter Reed."
Pool reporters were not informed ahead of time and were not called back to the White House nor Walter Reed.
The president’s medical condition has been the subject of debate for two days now, with conflicting information from administration sources and the medical team at Walter Reed.
Earlier on Sunday it was announced that he could be discharged from hospital as soon as Monday, though medical practitioners interviewed by the networks remain sceptical given the treatments the president is receiving.
An attending physician at Walter Reed: https://t.co/tBvJozNSZ7
— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) October 4, 2020
Concern was voiced by some on Twitter for the Secret Service agents and driver who would have travelled in the car with Mr Trump.
In the video released before the drive-by, Mr Trump said: “It’s been a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about Covid. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn’t the ‘let’s read the book’ school. And I get it. And I understand it. And it’s a very interesting thing.”
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