Former US President Donald Trump would have received Covid’s diagnosis three days before the first debate with Joe Biden, in September 2020, according to a report published on Wednesday (1) by The Guardian newspaper, which had access to the book by Mark Meadows , the Republican’s last chief of staff.
The presence of the former president at the event, however, was possible because a second test would have ruled out the contamination. According to Meadows, the first result was reported by the White House doctor on Sept. 26, as the Republican’s helicopter prepared to take off for Pennsylvania. “Stop the president from going,” Sean Conley said. “He tested positive for Covid.”
The warning coincided with the fact that Trump looked “a little tired” and suspected a “mild cold.” Upon receiving the news, Meadows would have been responsible for informing the then president, who had already taken off. According to the chief of staff, although he knew that each candidate was required to “have a negative test result 72 hours before the start. [do debate], nothing would prevent [Trump] to go out there”.
The republican would then have learned of the result of the first test when talking on the phone with Meadows, already inside the helicopter. After receiving the news, the former president would have reacted with irritation.
The chief of staff, however, initially reported that the virus had been detected using older technology. Thus, a second analysis would be done on a more modern system.
When he returned the call, the negative result was reported and, according to Meadows, he “could almost hear the collective ‘thank God’ echoing through the cabin.” Still according to the chief of staff, Trump interpreted the news as “total permission to proceed as if nothing had happened”.
On the other hand, Meadows emphasizes in his book that he “instructed everyone in his immediate circle” to treat the then president, during his trip to Pennsylvania, as if he were infected with the virus.
“I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks,” he wrote, “but neither did I want to alarm the public if there was nothing to worry about — according to the much more accurate new test, there wasn’t.”
Tested negative, Trump then participated in the rally that day and the debate three days later, organized by Fox News. In no time, the first test was mentioned.
History fuels theories that the former president, then 74, could have participated in the debate against Biden, then 77, infected with the coronavirus. On Oct. 2, the White House announced that the Republican had contracted Covid-19 and that the result had been out an hour ago.
Fox News presenter Chris Wallace, who moderated that first debate, later said that Trump was not tested before the event because he was late. On Wednesday, the former president denied that he was sick that day. “The story of me having Covid before or during the first debate is fake news,” he said in a statement released by the Republican’s communications director, Margo Martin, on Twitter.
Also according to Meadows, who releases the book “The Chief’s Chief” next week, Trump played golf in Virginia on the 27th and organized an event for military families. The ceremony was even pointed out later by the former president as the potential moment in which he contracted the virus.
On the same day, the Guardian points out, Trump still held a press conference at the White House. On the 28th, the Republican spoke with business leaders and spoke with journalists in the garden of the headquarters of the American government about actions to combat Covid-19.
attack on the capitol
The Meadows revelations come a day after the US House of Representatives said he provided records and agreed to cooperate with investigations into the January invasion of the Capitol, sparked by former President Donald Trump.
The former chief of staff was summoned by deputies in early November to testify to the commission investigating the attack, but he did not appear. The initial decision came amid calls by Trump that his allies not cooperate with the committee, calling the investigation policy.
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