Enlarge image
Trump in the first TV debate with Biden on September 29, 2020: Trump's chief of staff reports a positive corona test three days before the duel
Photo:
Julio Cortez / dpa
On October 2, 2020, then US President Donald Trump announced on Twitter: He has Corona.
As a result, he was treated at the hospital on the same day.
Trump eventually got well again, even if his condition was arguably more serious than the White House would have us believe at the time.
How long Trump had known about his infection - there has been constant speculation.
Also about whether the then US President already had Corona when he competed in the presidential election campaign on September 29, 2020 for a TV duel against his challenger, today's US President Joe Biden.
Now the rumors are getting new food: According to a media report, Trump's then chief of staff, Mark Meadows, claims in his next week's memoir that Trump received a positive corona test three days before meeting Biden - a fact the White House has never been aware of has given.
A positive test came as a shock, according to Meadows
According to the British Guardian, which has the book in advance, Meadows writes that it was known that both candidates needed a negative corona test at most 72 hours old in order to go into the duel.
Trump did another test and then submitted a negative test result.
Trump's positive test result on September 26 came as a shock to the White House, Meadows said.
There had just been a ceremony in the rose garden to nominate Supreme Court judge Amy Coney Barrett - an event that was later identified as a superspreader event.
Despite suspicious cold symptoms and tiredness after the event in the rose garden, Trump was on the way to an election campaign event in Pennsylvania.
The helicopter carrying the President had already taken off when the White House doctor called.
“Stop the President.
He has just tested positive for Corona, "the doctor explained.
Meadows claims to have called Trump then: “Mr President, I have bad news!
They tested positive for Corona, "the Guardian quoted from the book.
The second test was negative
Meadows describes his surprise that Trump was infected despite all precautionary measures.
The positive test was made with an outdated test kit.
He told Trump that he would repeat the test with a newer kit.
This was then negative.
According to the Guardian, Meadows went on to say that Trump took the negative result as comprehensive permission to continue as if nothing had happened.
Meadows himself claims to have instructed everyone in Trump's immediate environment to deal with the then president as if he were positive.
"I didn't want to take unnecessary risks, but at the same time I didn't want to unnecessarily alarm the public," Meadows said, according to the report.
Trump was not retested right before the TV duel
On September 27, the day after the tests, Trump played golf and made an appearance at an event for the families of soldiers. Trump said later that he could have been infected at this event because of people who came close to his face, wanted to hug or kiss him. According to the Guardian, Meadows does not mention in his book that Trump held an indoor press conference at the White House on the same day.
The next day, September 28, Trump spoke to business leaders at an event and looked at the inside of a new truck.
He also held a press conference in the rose garden of the White House on the government's corona measures.
Ironically, Trump also talked about new test options that would provide faster and more reliable information about whether a person is infected or not.
According to Fox News' host of the TV debate, Chris Wallace, Trump was not retested before the duel with Biden because he was late.
The organizers had relied on compliance with the existing test regulations.
call