Doctors: Trump continues to improve during virus treatment

BETHESDA, Maryland (AP) — President Donald Trump’s blood oxygen level dropped suddenly on Saturday, but he “has continued to improve,” the White House physician said Sunday, adding a new layer of confusion to the president’s health status even as he sought to clarify contradictory statements from the day before.

Trump’s medical team, speaking on the steps of the military hospital where he was being treated for a third consecutive day, suggested that he could be discharged from the hospital as early as Monday.

Navy Commander Dr Sean Conley acknowledged he was trying to downplay the severity of the president’s condition the day before.

“I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude of the team, that the president, that his course of illness has had. Didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction,” Conley said.

"And in doing so, came off like we’re trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true. The fact of the matter is that he’s doing really well."

Conley said the president had a “high fever” and a blood oxygen level below 94% on Friday and again on Saturday. The level currently stands at 98%, Trump’s medical team said.

The medical team still refused to disclose the timing of Trump’s dip in oxygen or whether lung scans showed any damage.

Trump offered his own assessment of his status the night before in a video from his hospital suite, saying he was beginning to feel better and hoped to “be back soon.” And he was back on social media early Sunday morning, sharing a video of flag-waving supporters, most not wearing masks, gathered outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The changing, and at times contradictory, accounts created a credibility crisis for the White House at a crucial moment, with the president’s health and the nation’s leadership on the line. Moreover, the president’s health represents a national security issue of paramount importance not only to the functions of the U.S. government but also to countries around the world, friendly and otherwise.

Trump’s Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, pulled his attack ads off the air during Trump’s hospitalisation, and on Sunday, he dispatched senior aides to deliver a largely friendly message.

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