DONALD TRUMP has been lambasted by doctors after staging a surprise drive-by visit to supporters standing vigil outside the Walter Reed military medical center, where the president is being treated for Covid-19.
Trump made the whistle-stop tour in the company of two Secret Service agents, who both appeared to be wearing respirators and eye protection in a video of the surprise trip.
The President also wore a mask during the drive, waving at those amassed outside the hospital before the vehicle doubled back and returning to the grounds of the hospital.
The stunt drew strong criticism from James Phillips, a doctor of emergency medicine at George Washington University and attending physician at Walter Reed, who described it as “insanity”.
“Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential ‘drive-by’ just now has to be quarantined for 14 days. They might get sick. They may die,” he wrote on Twitter.
“For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity.”
In a second Tweet, Dr Phillips said: “That Presidential SUV is not only bulletproof, but hermetically sealed against chemical attack.
“The risk of COVID19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play.”
His criticism was echoed by Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University school of medicine and health services.
“By taking a joy ride outside Walter Reed the president is placing his Secret Service detail at grave risk,” he wrote on Twitter.
“In the hospital when we go into close contact with a Covid patient we dress in full PPE: Gown, gloves, N95, eye protection, hat. This is the height of irresponsibility.”
White House spokesperson Judd Deere defended the stunt, insisting the drive was “cleared by the medical team as safe” and that “appropriate precautions were taken in the execution of this movement to protect the president and all those supporting it, including PPE.”
In a further twist, a White House official told NBC Melania Trump refused to leave her residence as: “That would expose the agents who would drive her there and the medical staff who would walk her up to him.”
Trump had already indicated he would be visiting the supporters gathered outside the hospital in a video posted on Twitter.
Describing his experience with Covid-19, Trump said: “This is the real school.”
“I get it and understand it. [It is] a very interesting thing and I’m going to be letting you know about it.”
