Walter Reed plans to discharge Trump as early as TOMORROW as doctor praises recovery, reveals he was treated with steroid on Saturday after 'second drop in oxygen' and blames Mark Meadows' 'misconstrued' statement for confusion over his condition
- Trump's top physician Dr. Sean Conley revealed Sunday he treated the president with a steroid and put him on oxygen Saturday in revealing timeline of treatment
- Conley was forced to explain Sunday that there was confusion over the president's medical condition because Chief of Staff Mark Meadow's comments were falsely represented
- 'The Chief and I work side-by-side,' Conley said of Meadows. 'And I think his statement was misconstrued'
- Meadows went off-the-record with reporters to say that the president's condition was 'concerning'
- 'The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We're still not on a clear path to a full recovery,' it was later revealed Meadows said
- Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen both tested negative Sunday for coronavirus
- Senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said Sunday Trump is 'ready to get back to the campaign trail'
- Fellow senior campaign adviser Steve Cortes said Sunday that Trump is 'as upbeat and assertive as he's ever been,' adding: 'This president is going to recover'
- Comments come the morning after White House Physician, Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley, said in a briefing Saturday Trump is 'not yet out of the woods'
- Trump released a video with him working from the Presidential Suite at Walter Reed Saturday evening where he said he will 'be back soon'
Donald Trump's doctors said Sunday he was given a steroid and put on oxygen as they treated him for COVID-19, but White House Physician Sean Conley said the president could be discharged from Walter Reed as early as Monday.
The president's top doctor also explained during his briefing Sunday afternoon that there was some confusion over Trump's condition because Chief of Staff Mark Meadow's comments were misrepresented.
'The Chief and I work side-by-side,' Conley said of Meadows. 'And I think his statement was misconstrued.'
'What he meant was that 24 hours ago, when he and I were checking on the president, that there was that momentary episode of a high fever. And that temporary drop in the saturation, which prompted us to act expediently to move him up here,' he said of the president's swift movement from the White House to Walter Reed on Friday.
'Fortunately that was a very transient, limited episode,' he continued in a briefing with some press outside the hospital center. 'A couple hours later he was back up, mild again. I'm not going to speculate what that limited episode was about so early in the course. But he's doing well.
Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence both tested negative for coronavirus on Sunday, paving the way for the vice president to take power should the president become incapacitated.
Conley, a Navy Commander and physician to the president, revealed during the briefing that Trump was treated with the steroid dexamethasone after a drop in oxygen levels on Saturday.
'Over the course of his illness, the president has experienced two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation. We debated the reasons for this and whether we'd even intervene. As a determination of the team, based predominantly on the timeline for the diagnosis, that we initiate dexamethasone,' Conley said.
The physician then detailed the timeline of Trump's treatment and the decision Friday to move him to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center just hours after the president announced that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus. 
Donald Trump's doctors revealed Sunday that they treated the president with a steroid and put him on oxygen Saturday as they were concerned over the rapid progression of the virus
Physician to the President Dr. Sean Conley, a Navy Commander, was forced to explain during the briefing Sunday that there was some confusion over Trump's condition because Chief of Staff Mark Meadow's comments were 'misconstrued'
Meadows v. Conley: Meadows rubbed his forehead Sunday (left) as Conley spoke to reporters outside Walter Reed. 'The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We're still not on a clear path to a full recovery,' Meadows told reporters anonymously and it was later revealed he was the source of the remarks
'Thursday night into Friday morning when I left the bedside, the president was doing well with only mild symptoms and his oxygen was in the high 90's. Late Friday morning when I returned to the bedside, president had a high fever and his oxygen level was transiently dipping below 94 per cent,' Conley said.
'Given these two developments, I was concerned for possible rapid progression of the illness,' he continued. 'I recommended the president try some supplemental oxygen.'
Conley said Trump was 'very adamant that he didn't need it. Was not short of breath. He was tired, had the fever, and that was about it.'
He said after a minute of oxygen, Trump's levels were back up above 95 per cent – but said that he kept the president's on the measure for about an hour.
Conley explained that the president's oxygen level did not dip into the 80's and reiterated that he was up and about shortly after the 'transient' episode.
Meadows received backlash Saturday after it appeared his comments on Trump's condition contradicted others' assessments, including the president's.
'The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We're still not on a clear path to a full recovery,' Meadows told reporters anonymously and it was later revealed he was the source of the remarks.
Meadows' comments came just after a White House team of doctors said that Trump's condition was improving and that he was already talking about returning to the White House.
One doctor said Trump told them, 'I feel like I could walk out of here today.'
How Mark Meadows infuriated Trump by telling reporters that his 'vitals are very concerning' in off-the-record health update
Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' revelation to reporters that Donald Trump's 'vitals are very concerning' reportedly angered the president and prompted him to post an upbeat video update on his condition Saturday.
The New York Times claimed that people close to the situation said that Trump was infuriated by the comments and acted to counteract the perception that he was very sick.
The president uploaded the four-minute video to his Twitter page on Saturday night in which he said he was 'much better' and fighting coronavirus, as his physician gave a optimistic update on his symptoms.
Yet earlier in the day, Meadows was caught asking to go off the record with White House reporters as an 'anonymous' source revealed the true extent of the president's condition.
'The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We're still not on a clear path to a full recovery,' Meadows told reporters on the initial condition that he not be identified.
He was later named as the source of the quote.
Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' revelation to reporters that Donald Trump's 'vitals are very concerning' reportedly angered the president and prompted him to post an upbeat video update on his condition Saturday
Meadows' comments came just after a White House team of doctors said that Trump's condition was improving and that he was already talking about returning to the White House.
One doctor said Trump told them: 'I feel like I could walk out of here today.'
Meadows did not clarify the discrepancy in his comments.
A Trump adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity said the president was not happy to learn of Meadows' initial remarks, according to Reuters.
Hours later, the president posted a video from the hospital where he is battling Covid-19, saying he was improving and would be 'back soon' - but acknowledging the crucial coming days would be 'the real test.
Trump attempted to reassure the public that he was not suffering severe coronavirus symptoms and called his treatment 'miracles from God' as he worked to counteract Meadows' comments.
'I came here, wasn't feeling so well. I feel much better now,' he said from his business suite at Walter Reed military medical center. 'We're working hard to get me all the way back... I think I'll be back soon and I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started.'
Appearing relaxed in an open-collar blue suit and jacket, Trump acknowledged that there was uncertainty about the course of the disease, which can hit recovering patients hard with no warning.
'I'm starting to feel good. You don't know over the next period of a few days, I guess that's the real test, so we'll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days.'
Several hours later, Deputy White House Press Secretary Judd Deere posted a picture showing Trump working into the night from the hospital.
The video came after Meadows' earlier comments spread and led to concern about how ill the president is, despite the optimistic updates from his personal physician.
Meadows quickly tried to step back his words as the news spread, telling Reuters shortly afterward that Trump was doing 'very well' and that doctors were in fact pleased with his vital signs.
'The president is doing very well. He is up and about and asking for documents to review. The doctors are very pleased with his vital signs. I have met with him on multiple occasions today on a variety of issues,' Meadows said.
He made a third comment on the president's condition to Fox News on Saturday night in which the Chief of Staff confirmed that there had been a cause for concern when the president was hospitalized on Friday evening.
The White House had said that Trump was traveling to Walter Reed Military Medical Center out of an 'abundance of caution' and would continue to work from they for a 'few days' as he underwent tests.
'Yesterday morning he was real concerned with that. He had a fever and his blood oxygen level had dropped rapidly,' Meadows said to Fox's Judge Jeanie.
Yet, he added that Trump's condition had improved.
'He is doing extremely well. I am very, very optimistic based on the current result,' Meadows added.
'He's made unbelievable improvement from yesterday' Meadows continued after again saying the doctors were 'very concerned'.
'We are still not on a clear path to a full recovery,' he added.
The new comments from the president's medical team comes as Trump's campaign advisers Stephen Miller and Steve Cortes claimed Sunday the president is eager to get back to campaigning even after Conley said Saturday he is not yet 'out of the woods.'
Miller, the campaign's senior adviser, said he spoke to Trump recently and said the president told him 'he's going to defeat this virus… and our campaign is going to defeat this virus.'
'Once he gets out of the hospital, he's ready to get back to the campaign trail,' Miller told NBC's Chuck Todd during an interview on 'Meet the Press' Sunday morning. 'He sounded pretty energetic.'
'But he said something else that I thought that was important too,' Miller said, 'and that was to be careful, and that was to remind folks to wash their hands, use hand sanitizer, make sure that if you can't socially distance, distance to wear a mask. And I thought that was a pretty important message to send and a reminder to the rest of the country.'
Cortes, another senior campaign adviser, reiterated the president's fitness during an interview with Chris Wallace on 'Fox News Sunday.'
'He's doing well,' Cortes attested.
Senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said Sunday that the president is 'ready to get back to the campaign trail'
Fellow senior campaign adviser Steve Cortes (right) told Fox News' Chris Wallace (left): 'He was as upbeat and assertive as he's ever been' and claimed: 'This president is going to recover'
The comments come the morning after White House Physician, Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley, said in a briefing Trump is 'not yet out of the woods'
'We spoke to the president yesterday, we meaning senior campaign staff,' Cortes said. 'He was as upbeat and assertive as he's ever been.'
He added: 'This president is going to recover, we are highly confident of that.'
Trump announced overnight Thursday via Twitter that he and first lady Melania tested positive for coronavirus as the two took a test following the revelation that Counselor to the President Hope Hicks received a positive diagnosis hours earlier.
Trump's chief doctor, Navy Commander Sean Conley, along with other doctors gave an update on the president's condition during a briefing Saturday.
'While not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic,' Conley said, adding that Trump moved around his medical suite without difficulty as he conducted business.
The White House physician also said that Trump had been exhibiting 'clinical indications' of coronavirus as early as Thursday afternoon.
There are conflicting reports and statements on whether the president has needed supplemental oxygen at any point since arriving at Walter Reed Friday or how high his fever has reached.
Trump provided his own account of his medical condition on Saturday evening, releasing a video of him working from the presidential suite at the hospital in a white button down with no tie and the first button undone.
'I'm starting to feel good' the president said in a video posted to Twitter as he promised that he was fighting the virus for COVID-19 patients 'all over the world'.
The 74-year-old president added that the treatments he is receiving are 'miracles from God' as he said Melania's symptoms were not as severe as his own.
'We're both doing well,' Trump said in the four-minute video showing images of him working from the medical center.
'Melania is really handling it very nicely. As you've probably read, she's slightly younger than me, just a little tiny bit,' he said of his 50-year-old wife.
'And therefore, we know the disease, we know the situation with age versus younger people and Melania is handling it statistically like it's supposed to be handled and that makes me very happy, and it makes the country very happy, but I'm also doing well and I think we're gonna have a very good result again.'
He said in the video that he is feeling better and will 'be back soon.'
Trump released a video with him working from the Presidential Suite at Walter Reed Saturday where he said he will 'be back soon''I spoke with the President yesterday afternoon and he's in very good spirits,' Miller said. 'Both Bill Stepien, the campaign manager, and I spent about a half hour on the phone with the president and going through all the updates on what's going on with the campaign.'
Miller also said he believes the campaign, White House and medical team are just taking 'very precautionary' steps toward ensuring the president's health.
It appears the two 'spreader' events could have been when Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court at the White House last Saturday and during his rally Wednesday in Minnesota.
Hicks, who traveled with the president to the rally this week, tested positive for coronavirus hours after the event – where she was in close proximity to the president and several of his White House and campaign staffer.
Several individuals who participated in Trump's debate prep last week, including former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, tested positive for coronavirus.
Miller told ABC News' 'This Week' on Sunday morning that he tested negative on Friday – as well as Senior Advisor to the President Stephen Miller and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who also participated in debate preparations.
Misleading medical reports, backtracking doctors and a confused timeline: How a paranoid Trump's fear of leaks has left his own team in the dark about severity of his condition - and how exposed THEY are to COVID-19
The White House has been thrown into chaos and confusion in the wake of Trump's coronavirus diagnosis as staffers are left in the dark about the president's condition and potential risks to their own health.
Over the past four days Trump's team has offered a number of conflicting reports surrounding the president's illness, sowing doubt about when he tested positive and how severe his symptoms have been.
Meanwhile the virus has continued to spread through the White House, infecting at least 12 people who work there by Saturday night, as staff try to stay informed via the media in the absence of transparency from top brass in the Trump administration.
One senior White House official lifted the lid on the state of the 1600 Penn in an interview with Intelligencer on Saturday, decrying how paranoid attempts to avoid leaks have not only failed, but are threatening the health and safety of staff.
'Ninety percent of the [White House] complex most certainly learned about it in the news, as has been the case ever since,' the senior official said.
'There are reports that COVID is spreading like wildfire through the White House. Since this whole thing started, not one email has gone out to tell employees what to do or what's going on.'
The official said that the majority of staff has received little to no reliable information, about the president's condition or about anything else regarding the outbreak.
'I think most of it is paranoia about leaks,' they said, 'yet ... the leaks continue.'
The White House has been thrown into chaos and confusion in the wake of Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis as staffers are left in the dark about the president's condition and potential risks to their own health. Pictured: Marine One leaves the White House on Friday as Trump is transported to Walter Reed National Military Hospital for treatment
Outside the White House, confusion erupted on Saturday when Trump's team of doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center offered a vague but sunny update on his health that was then contradicted by the president's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
'This morning, the president is doing very well. The team and I are extremely happy with the progress the president has made. He's been fever free for 24 hours and we are cautiously optimistic,' Trump's personal physician Sean Conley told reporters outside Walter Reed.
Conley's depiction was far more hopeful than one put forward by Meadows, who spoke to a press pooler on background immediately after the briefing ended.
Trump's personal physician Sean Conley (pictured) offered a vague update on his condition outside Walter Reed on Saturday morning, saying the president is doing 'very well'
'The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We're still not on a clear path to a full recovery,' Meadows said.
The briefing raised more questions than answers as Conley declined to say what temperature Trump had when he had a fever or whether he was on oxygen.
Conley also said that the president was '72 hours into the diagnosis', indicating that Trump could have tested positive as early as Wednesday - not Thursday night as the White House had claimed.
If he was 72 hours into his diagnosis, that would mean Trump was positive a day after the presidential debate with Joe Biden and positive during a Minnesota rally Wednesday and a fundraising event in New Jersey attended by 100 people Thursday.
Conley and other senior officials spent the rest of Saturday backtracking, claiming that the doctor misspoke when he said '72 hours' and that he actually meant 'day three'.
After the presser Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (pictured) told a pool reporter: 'The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We're still not on a clear path to a full recovery'
Trump announced his diagnosis just before 1am Friday, hours after it emerged that his top aide, Hope Hicks, had tested positive after she started feeling sick on Wednesday while traveling to Minnesota with the president for his rally.
The White House sought to keep Hicks' diagnosis under wraps and apparently didn't inform its own staff despite the possibility that they could have been exposed to her.
Questions over the timeline are concerning both within and outside the White House because the president had traveled to multiple states and was exposed to countless people in the days before his diagnosis was announced.
On Wednesday the president appeared before a crowd of hundreds of people, who were notably not socially distanced, at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota.
He spoke for 45 minutes, far less than his usual performances of more than an hour. At the rally he was seen throwing red MAGA caps into the crowd. Then he fell asleep on Air Force One in contrast to normally watching television and tweeting.
The following day Trump traveled to his golf course and resort in Bedminster, New Jersey for an indoor fundraiser with about 100 attendees.
Trump reportedly met about 19 high-dollar GOP donors in private and seemed 'lethargic' at that fundraiser.
The contact tracing process is underway in New Jersey and Gov Phil Murphy is urging anyone at the Bedminster event or around it to self quarantine and get tested.
Organizers of the fundraiser have sent out an email to attendees informing them of Trump's diagnosis, urging them to get tested if they experience symptoms.
It is unclear whether Trump caught the virus directly from Hicks, who traveled with him Tuesday for his debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Cleveland and on Wednesday to Minnesota.
On Wednesday the president spoke before a crowd of hundreds of people, who were notably not socially distanced, at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota
It is unclear whether Trump caught the virus directly from Hicks, who traveled with him Tuesday for his debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Cleveland and on Wednesday to Minnesota. Hicks pictured with White House advisor Jared Kushner and White House social media director Dan Scavino walking to Air Force One Wednesday
By Friday evening the president was flown on Marine One to Walter Reed hospital for a several days long stay to undergo treatment 'out of an abundance of caution' after reporting symptoms of fever, cough and congestion that the White House described as 'mild'.
Rumors that officials were downplaying the severity of Trump's condition began to swirl on Friday night as an anonymous White House official claimed he was hospitalized because he was having 'trouble breathing'.
Dr Conley said Saturday that he was speaking '48 hours after' Trump received his first dose of Regenron's experimental polyclonal antibody cocktail. That would mean on Thursday morning.
And another doctor – Brian Garibaldi – said: 'About 48 hours ago the president received a special antibody therapy directed against the coronavirus. We are working very closely with the company to monitor him in terms of that outcome. Yesterday evening he received his first dose of IV remdesvir.'
Then in a statement Conley said Regenron was first administered on Friday – but not when. That means two doctors have now said the White House has misspoken.
Conley repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether the president had ever been placed on supplemental oxygen, merely stating that he wasn't on it at the time of the briefing.
The physician said Trump's medical team was still assessing the president to determine when he can be discharged from Walter Reed but asserted that he was on the mend.
Both Conley and the White House maintained that Trump's hospitalization was precautionary, rather than a sign that his case was growing more serious.
However, Intelligencer spoke to Panagis Galiastatos, a pulmonary and critical-care physician at Johns Hopkins who has treated more than 100 COVID-19 patients in his hospital's ICU, challenged that suggestion.
Galiastatos said that the details about Trump's remdesivir treatment indicated that he is suffering from a 'moderate' or 'severe' case of COVID-19.
The doctor said he suspects Trump 'probably had COVID-19 around Wednesday', noting that patients are understood to be contagious 'several days before' showing symptoms.
If that's the case, it could mean that Trump was positive during Tuesday night's debate with Biden. Both Biden and his wife Jill tested negative after the news of Hicks' diagnosis.
Meadows contradicted Conley's assertion that Trump was doing 'very well' in his comment to the press pool immediately after the Walter Reed briefing.
The chief of staff apparently did not intend for his message to reach the wider press pool - but after it did, he appeared on Fox News on Saturday night and admitted that Trump's condition had been 'very concerning' on Friday.
Multiple sources also claimed that Trump had been placed on oxygen prior to being admitted to Walter Reed, which the White House confirmed later on Sunday evening. The president addressed the nation himself in a video from the hospital on Saturday night, saying he was feeling better while acknowledging, as Meadows had said, that the next two days are critical.
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