Walter Reed physician: Trump sent ‘wrong message’ that it’s ‘OK to go out’ with COVID-19

An attending physician at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where President Trump has been for several days, sharply criticized the president’s decision to exit the hospital to greet supporters from the back of a vehicle.

In an interview Monday with “Today,” James Phillips expanded on the criticism he first issued in a tweet Sunday blasting Trump for the “irresponsibility” he says the president showed by risking the exposure of Secret Service agents and others to the coronavirus.

“This is the wrong message to be sending,” Phillips said, adding: “This was a dangerous move. There is no medical benefit for this to have taken place.”

“Beyond the risk that was imparted on those Secret Service agents, volunteering or not, it’s the message that is sent to other people who are sick that it’s OK to go out,” he continued.

Phillips’s comments come a day after he sharply criticized Trump’s excursion from Walter Reed on Twitter, writing: “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.”

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

Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed on Friday evening after his positive test for the coronavirus was announced early that morning. He could be sent back to the White House as early as Monday.