Trump’s doctors told Americans must be able to ‘trust’ their statements on president’s health

There are calls for Donald Trump’s doctors to be straight with the American people following misleading and conflicting accounts of his health after his coronavirus diagnosis.

On Sunday, the president’s medical team spoke to the press at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was admitted on Friday. The team, led by Mr Trump’s physician, Sean Conley, was pressed about conflicting accounts of the president’s condition.

The doctors had presented a rosy description of the president’s health on Saturday in contrast to remarks by the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.

Mr Conley acknowledged on Sunday that he had tried to present an “upbeat” description. He went on to admit that Mr Trump’s blood oxygen level dropped suddenly twice in recent days, but that he “has continued to improve” since then. He also said that Mr Trump had received supplemental oxygen on two occasions – contradicting a previous statement.

The president was given two litres of oxygen at the White House on Friday morning when he also had a high fever, the doctor said. He added that the president had at first been adamant that he did not want it. The president was also given oxygen on Saturday while in hospital.

During Saturday’s medical update, Mr Conley told reporters that Mr Trump had not had trouble breathing, and was not given oxygen at Walter Reed. Pressed on Sunday about when the second dip in oxygen levels occurred, Mr Conley did not answer directly, nor did he respond to questions about signs of lung damage on scans that might indicate pneumonia, nor why none of this had been mentioned during earlier briefings.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the doctors treating the president must provide trustworthy information to the public. She told CBS’s Face the Nation: “We need to have trust that what they’re telling us about the president’s condition is real.” Ms Pelosi said she feared the information the doctors are relaying to the public “has to be approved by the president. That’s not very scientific”.

Mr Trump’s doctors on Sunday also suggested that the president could be discharged from the hospital on Monday. He is also being treated with a steroid, dexamethasone, shown in studies to improve survival for critical patients with critical Covid-19 who need extra oxygen.

Ref: Independent