Donald Trump at military hospital as more allies test positive for Covid-19

President has been moved to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center ‘out of an abundance of caution’, White House says

Other members of Trump entourage, including former counsellor Kellyanne Conway and campaign manager Bill Stepien, have also tested positive

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US President Donald Trump disembarks from the Marine One helicopter as he arrives at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday following his diagnosis with coronavirus. Photo: EPA

Published: 11:51pm, 2 Oct 2020Updated: 11:47pm, 3 Oct 2020

US President Donald Trump was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland late on Friday afternoon following a Covid-19 diagnosis that has pulled him off the campaign trail a month before Election Day.

“Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said after earlier comments by Trump aides that he was expected to convalesce at the White House.

Trump walked on his own, wearing a dark suit with a blue tie, to the Marine One helicopter at about 6.20pm for his short flight to the medical facility.

In an 18-second video recorded inside the White House and released on Twitter, Trump broke his silence, saying he was being hospitalised but “I think I’m doing very well”.

“We’re going to make sure that things work out,” he said, adding that the first lady was also “doing very well”.

The pandemic that Trump tried to push to the background – accusing China over the origins of the coronavirus in a bid to deflect questions about why the illness has continued to spread in the US – has engulfed his efforts to turn around a campaign after falling behind his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.