WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump set out to get his campaign back on track Friday, a week after he was sidelined with the coronavirus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
As questions linger about his health, Trump began speaking directly to voters, on the radio, less than four weeks from Election Day, and he eyed a return to travel as soon as Monday. The president has not been seen in public — other than in White House-produced videos — since his return days ago from the military hospital where he received experimental treatments for the virus.
Trump on Friday held what his campaign billed as a “radio rally” as he dialed in to the show of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Despite public and private surveys showing him trailing Democrat Joe Biden, Trump predicted a greater victory in 2020 than four years ago.
While Trump said he believes he’s no longer contagious, concerns about infection appeared to scuttle plans for next week’s presidential debate.
“My voice is now perfect,” he told Limbaugh.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says individuals can discontinue isolation 10 days after the onset of symptoms, which for Trump was Oct. 1, according to his doctors. His doctor, Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley, said that meant Trump, who has been surrounded by minimal staffing as he works out of the White House residence and the Oval Office, could return to holding events on Saturday.
He added that Trump was showing no evidence of his illness progressing or adverse reactions to the aggressive course of therapy prescribed by his doctors.
While reports of reinfection are rare, the CDC recommends that even people who recover from COVID-19 continue to wear masks, stay distanced and follow other precautions. It was unclear if Trump, who refused mask-wearing in most settings, would abide by that guidance.
In the interview with Limbaugh, Trump again credited the experimental antibody drug he received last week with speeding his recovery.
“I was not in the greatest of shape,” he said. “A day later I was fine.” He promised to expedite distribution of the drug to Americans in need, though that requires action by the Food and Drug Administration.
He speculated to Limbaugh that without the drug, “I might not have recovered at all.”
There is no way to know how the drug affected his progression with the virus.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.