Walter Reed Doctor: Trump Put Secret Service at Risk With Hospital Drive-By

An attending physician at Walter Reed hospital said President Donald Trump put his Secret Service agents at risk during a surprise visit to his supporters outside the hospital.

“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,” Dr. James P. Phillips wrote on Twitter.

Trump paid a visit to his supporters outside the hospital from his presidential motorcade Sunday, October 4. Supporters gathered outside the hospital after the president was admitted for COVID-19 treatment on Saturday, October 3.

Here’s what you need to know:

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Walter Reed Attending Physician Said ‘This Is Insanity’ in Regard to Trump’s Drive-by Visit to Supporters

Phillips has been outspoken on Twitter about Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, describing cases of the coronavirus among the president and his staff as a “preventable White House superspreader event.” Phillips is Chief of Disaster Medicine with the GWU Emergency Medicine, an attending physician at Walter Reed, a media contributor and works for COVID 19 Recovery Consultants, LLC, according to his Twitter page.

He wrote:

As more and more cases are traced to this preventable White House superspreader event, affecting two, and maybe all three branches of the government, the critical lesson remains clear. We CANNOT test our way out of this. Testing is a useful tool but is FAR from perfect, no matter the platform used. There are many false negatives, which may be the cause for why the disease is now rampant in the most secure building in the world and has infected Trump, the POTUS. There are also false positives, resulting in 14 day isolation, disrupting lives costing businesses millions of dollars. There is no validated protocol to “re-test-out” of a false positive test, yet. So the to be learned is clear. Even the highest of security plus the highest cadence of testing plus unlimited money cannot protect you from COVID 19. What can? Public health advice, humility, trust in science, self-sacrifice, and care for your neighbor.

He also posted a series of tweets regarding the presidential drive-by outside Walter Reed and Trump’s level of activity on Twitter.

“I know it’s not a typical indicator of illness but I’m concerned the most telling ‘lab value’ indicating the President’s health is the # of tweets in the last 24 hours. Almost zero. It’s unprecedented, particularly as the election nears. Be wary of mimics from his staff,” he wrote.

After Trump’s visit to supporters, Phillips wrote:

In these most-unusual times, Twitter is the 5th vital sign, and perhaps the most important in this particular case. Right now, it is at and unprecedented and critically low level. It is perhaps the most telling vital regarding the President’s health. 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. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity. 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.

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Trump Paid a Surprise Visit to His Supporters Outside Walter Reed & Said He Is Learning About COVID-19 Through Personal Experience

Trump shared a video on Twitter shortly before his drive-by visit saying he was planning to pay a surprise visit to his supporters outside the hospital.

“I want to thank them all — the nurses, the doctors everybody here. I’ve also gotten to meet some of the soldiers and first responders, and what a group,” he said in the video.

“I also think we’re going to pay a little surprise to some of the great patriots that we have out on the street. They’ve been out there for a long time and they’ve got Trump flags and they love our country,” he continued.

“It’s been a very interesting journey,” Trump went on to say. “I learned a lot about COVID. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn’t the ‘let’s read the book’ school. And I get it. And I understand it. And it’s a very interesting thing.”

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