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Since his positive test result for the virus that's killed over 200 thousand Americans, Americans are calling for more transparency regarding President Donald Trump's condition.
While health officials have confirmed that Trump needed supplemental oxygen and also received a dexamethasone prescription—potentially signaling more serious symptoms—the White House is scrambling to project an image of health onto Trump that critics don't believe is actually the case.
During a Saturday press briefing in front of Walter Reed Medical Center, where the President is undergoing treatment, Dr. Sean Conley—head of Trump's medical team—demurred when asked if Trump had been on oxygen.
At a briefing the next day, Conley admitted that the President, in fact, had needed supplemental oxygen twice.
Conley said his initial reticence to disclose this to the public was due to hopes that optimism would defeat the virus.
Watch below.
"I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction," Dr. Conley says when asked why he was reluctant to answer specific questions about the president's health yesterday. pic.twitter.com/TbzY1JKplO
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 4, 2020
Conley said:
"I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction, and in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn't necessarily true."
As with the White House's response to the virus as a whole, Conley seemed to believe that reflecting an "upbeat attitude" about the President's condition would actually manifest into a more positive prognosis.
People were confounded by that logic.
I'm no doctor but how does relaying accurate information affect the course of an illness exactly? https://t.co/559UhnrzzP
— Meridith McGraw (@meridithmcgraw) October 4, 2020
Information doesn't steer the course of an illness one way or another unless he means how the patient absorbs it. https://t.co/MJMLPnMWEz
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 4, 2020
Because the virus is clever, and it was listening, and Conley knew it would go all Andromeda Strain if it heard him https://t.co/U7qMU5c8d2
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 4, 2020
Does he think the virus is... listening? https://t.co/5shLktFIDa
— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) October 4, 2020
White House Doctor: Telling the truth makes Trump sick https://t.co/6WEauPAkAn
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) October 4, 2020
Dr. Conley's statement does not make sense.
How could providing accurate information about Trump's health “steer the course of illness in another direction"? https://t.co/V4m7Y9XSWo
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) October 4, 2020
Speculation regarding Trump's condition is still widespread.
The briefings by @realDonaldTrump's physicians continue to be a deliberate exercise in obfuscation, insulting to the public & unbefitting the seriousness of the moment.
We still don't know answers to key Qs about his condition & when he was infected.https://t.co/f1vAiiE1pk
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) October 4, 2020
Don't expect honesty about Trump's condition. Remember Herman Cain was "only on oxygen" but later we learned he died on a ventilator. If Trump requires oxygen then his condition is precarious b/c his lungs are damaged. These patients crash quickly, often requiring intubation. pic.twitter.com/1X4PrMbGHE
— Cleavon MD (@Cleavon_MD) October 5, 2020
The propaganda, disinformation, and confusion being put out by this regime over Trump's condition reminds me of how the Kremlin handles situations. Transparency exists in a Democracy while cover-ups and disinformation occur in authoritarian states.
— Olga Lautman (@OlgaNYC1211) October 4, 2020