President Donald Trump announced he had taken the test for coronavirus. He announced the news during a press conference at the White House on Saturday.
“By the way, I had my temperature taken coming into the room,” Trump said. “I also took the test last night and I decided I should based on the press conference yesterday. People were asking did I take the test?”
A reporter shouted, “When will we have the result, Mr. President?”
“I don’t know, a day or two days. Whatever it takes. They sent it to a lab,” Trump responded.
President Trump says he was tested for the coronavirus: “I also took the test last night … and I decided I should based on the press conference yesterday” https://t.co/C3zbIzmSM7 pic.twitter.com/UPaEZcVaaM
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 14, 2020
Concerns about the president mounted when it was announced on Thursday that Fabio Wajngarten, press secretary for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, had tested positive for coronavirus. Trump had met with Wajngarten on March 7 at Mar-a-Lago.
Later on in the press conference, Trump said his temperature had been “totally normal.”
As President Trump was leaving the coronavirus task force press briefing, a reporter asked him if his temperature was normal.
"Totally normal," President Trump said, smiling. pic.twitter.com/WUUd8oSkSY
— Trump War Room – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) March 14, 2020
During the conference, Trump and his team discussed the vital partnership between the federal government and the private sector which the president announced on Friday.
The president’s team also announced that travel to Britain and Ireland would be suspended. Vice President Mike Pence explained that American citizens and permanent residents can return to the U.S. despite the bans.
This public-private partnership is extremely important at a time when Democrats are advocating for socialized medicine and an expansion of the federal government into health care. Rather than pushing a government solution to the coronavirus, President Trump is partnering with the private sector to come up with innovative solutions. He has adopted a pro-free-market all-hands-on-deck approach to the problem at a time when Democrats are going all-in on one-size-fits-all government approaches.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member