Donald Trump, in difficulty 25 days before the US presidential election, tried Friday October 9 to display his endurance with a radio marathon a week after being hospitalized due to Covid-19, but doubts persist about his ability to reconnect with campaign meetings.
Read also: Even the Covid-19 cannot change Donald Trump
Distanced by Democrat Joe Biden in the polls and confined to the White House since his release from hospital on Monday, the Republican president participated in a "
radio meeting
" - in fact, a two-hour uninterrupted telephone conversation with Rush Limbaugh, a figure in the conservative sphere, who has never ceased to praise his record.
"
We have a cure
" to cure the coronavirus, he hammered several times about the experimental treatment which was administered to him, promising once again to distribute it for free.
"
I was not doing very well
", but "
these drugs are so good, they just eliminated the virus,
" assured the 74-year-old president, repeatedly showing his frustration with this sudden stop.
The message is clear: the disease page has been turned.
His voice was clearer than Thursday night, when the hoarse candidate was repeatedly interrupted by coughing in a telephone interview on
Fox News
.
Friday evening, he must continue with his first interview filmed since the announcement of his positive coronavirus test a week ago, on this same conservative channel, which promised a "
medical evaluation
" by a doctor-columnist.
On the other hand, despite his impatience, questions still hover over his return to the field.
Negative test?
Thursday, Donald Trump said he wanted to hold a real meeting, in person, on Saturday evening in Florida, but the White House has not confirmed at this stage and even insisted on "
logistical
"
difficulties
.
Same doubts about a possible rally Monday in Pennsylvania.
In both cases, these are key states that he must win, as in his surprise victory in 2016, to get a new four-year term.
The holding of the next Trump-Biden televised debate on October 15 is also pending.
The president refuses that it be virtual, as the organizers have decided as a health precaution.
To read also: Donald Trump and the Covid-19: "Blow of poker"
"
He is ready to go out as soon as his doctor gives the green light
," his spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany assured Fox News.
White House doctor Sean Conley, whose elusive communication is under fire from critics, said Thursday he expected “
the president to resume his public activities
” on Saturday “
without risk
”.
But a crucial question remains unanswered: Donald Trump, who "
thinks
" he is no longer contagious, has he taken a negative test to confirm this conviction?
He said Thursday that this test would "
probably
" take place on Friday.
His aptitude in question
Opposite, his opponents warn against his return to meet voters, even though the multiplication of gatherings, with little or no physical distancing and masks in the public, is criticized from all sides.
Democrats also openly question his suitability to govern.
Their leader in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, on Friday proposed to create a commission to assess the ability of US presidents to govern.
“
This is not about President Trump.
It will be subject to the judgment of the voters,
”she took care to clarify.
“
But he showed us that it was necessary to create a process for future presidents.
This initiative, in a climate of extreme divisions before the November 3 election, aims to keep attention on the disease contracted by Donald Trump, and more broadly on the pandemic that he has largely minimized and which has made more than 212,000 dead in the United States, by far the most bereaved country in the world.
Read also: Democrats introduce law to assess the capabilities of US presidents
Joe Biden, who is now nearly ten points ahead in national polls and has also cemented his advantage in voting intentions at the state-level decisive for the election, continues his campaign at his own pace.
He was expected Friday in Nevada.
He hammers out almost a single message: Donald Trump has failed across the board in managing the pandemic.
And the former Democratic vice-president voluntarily avoids sensitive questions, especially when asked if he endorses the will of some in his camp to increase the number of judges on the Supreme Court to dilute the conservative majority within of this key institution which settles the major questions of society.