Speaking from a White House that already has a huge credibility problem with the public, Meadows’ statement capped a 24-hour period that served as a master class in opacity and contradiction that raised major questions about the President’s health — and renewed questions about this administration’s ability to tell the truth.
Trump has been watching and critiquing coverage of his hospitalization from the presidential suite at Walter Reed and has been agitated at what he claims are exaggerated descriptions of his condition, people familiar with the matter said.
For much of this year, Trump has spun an alternate reality about the dangers of coronavirus — disputing science and the efficacy of masks, downplaying the risks to the American people, and making false statements about how 99% of coronavirus cases in America are “totally harmless” or that the virus “affects virtually nobody.”
He encouraged his aides and advisers to live in that dangerous fantasy land, pushing his luck to the limits as late as this past week when he again recklessly gathered thousands of unmasked Americans at his political rallies and packed the top officials in government into a Rose Garden ceremony for his Supreme Court nominee. All the while, White House officials embraced the fallacy that administering rapid coronavirus tests frequently at the White House could provide a shield of immunity.
The President’s construct crumbled Friday when he was airlifted to Walter Reed after contracting the virus, while many aides, advisers and allies were testing positive for Covid-19 after interacting with him over the past week.
Undermining the confidence in the information coming from the White House, Conley gave confusing statements Saturday morning about how long it’s been since the President was diagnosed with Covid-19, which he later had to try to clean up.
Conley was evasive about whether the President had received supplemental oxygen (CNN confirmed he had). Conley also refused to pinpoint when the President had his last negative test or to detail whether any tracing had been done to determine how he contracted the virus.
A potential superspreading event at the White House
Conway, Christie, Trump’s senior adviser Hope…
Read More: Donald Trump’s alternate reality of Covid-19 crumbles as the White House