Doctor James Phillips, an attending physician at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, slammed President Donald Trump for leaving his hospital room and waving to supporters gathered outside from his motorcade on Sunday, saying it is “insanity” that the president puts those in the vehicle at risk “just for theater.”
“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,” tweeted Phillips, who is also the chief of disaster medicine at the George Washington University Department of Emergency Medicine.
“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,” he continued.
Photos and videos of the visit to supporters were shared online and show Trump wearing what appeared to be a cloth face mask, while Secret Service members in the car with him wore N95 masks. Trump returned to Walter Reed’s presidential suite immediately following the motorcade.
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Some city officials pointed out that Trump’s drive violated Maryland public health guidance, which asks that COVID-19-positive people in the state quarantine and isolate themselves from other people.
The president tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and has been in the hospital recovering. Doctors say Trump could return to the White House as soon as Monday.
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, MD (@DrPhillipsMD) October 4, 2020
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.
— Dr. James P. Phillips, MD (@DrPhillipsMD) October 4, 2020
