Donald Trump back in Oval Office, pledges drugs he got to all for free

Donald Trump hails treatment he received for COVID-19 as a ‘cure’, pledging to make it available to Americans for free.

President Donald Trump removes his mask upon return to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre.

Donald Trump has hailed treatment he received for COVID-19 as a “cure”, pledging to make it available to Americans for free as his doctor says the US President has been free of symptoms for 24 hours.

In a video released via his Twitter account, Mr Trump said Regeneron’s COVID-19 treatment was “much more important” than a vaccine, but that a vaccine would be released “very very shortly”.

“I spent four days (in hospital), I wasn’t feeling so hot,” Mr Trump said.

“Within a very short period they gave me Regeneron … and other things too but I think this was the key. It was unbelievable. I felt good immediately.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT! pic.twitter.com/uhLIcknAjT

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020

“We’re trying to get them on an emergency basis. I’ve authorised it. If you’re in the hospital and you’re feeling really bad, I think we’re going to work it so you get them and get them free. If you’re a senior we’re going to get you in there quick. We have hundreds of thousands of doses that are just about ready. I have emergency use authorisation all set, we’ve got to get it signed now. You’re going to get better, get better really fast.”

Mr Trump added that his illness was actually a “blessing in disguise”.

“I caught it, I heard about this drug, I said let me take it … it was incredible the way it worked. I think if I didn’t catch it we’d be looking at that like a number of drugs.

“It’s a cure: for me, I walked in, I didn’t feel good, a short 24 hours later I was feeling great.

“The job the scientists have done is incredible. In addition to this we have various other drugs that help a lot. They call them therapeutic but to me it wasn’t therapeutic it just made me better. I call that a cure. I want to get them to the hospital where people are feeling bad. That’s much more important to me than the vaccine.

“I want to get for you what I got and I’m going to make it free. It wasn’t your fault this happened, it was China’s fault. China’s going to pay a big price.”

Regeneron Pharmaceutical shares jumped 3 per cent to $6.09 in afterhours trading after US President Trump said its antibody therapeutic was a “cure” for COVID-19.

Earlier, Mr Trump’s doctor said he has not had a fever in four days.

“The president this morning says ‘I feel great,’” doctor Sean Conley said in a brief update.

Mr Trump tested positive last week and was hospitalised at the Walter Reed military medical centre late on Friday evening, returning to the White House on Monday evening.

“His physical exam and vital signs, including oxygen saturation and respiratory rate, all remain stable and in normal range,” the doctor’s statement said.

White House physician Sean Conley (C) answers questions surrounded by other doctors, during an update on the condition of US President Donald Trump.

“He’s now been fever-free for more than four days, symptom-free for over 24 hours, and has not needed nor received any supplemental oxygen since initial hospitalisation.”

Mr Trump has vowed to return to campaigning shortly and to participate in the second presidential debate against opponent Joe Biden in Miami on October 15.

The president is confronted by dire polling numbers ahead of the November 3 election, which comes as the economy struggles to recover from Covid shutdowns that have left countless families and businesses struggling.

Latest polls forecast a clear victory for Biden, with CNN giving the Democrat a national advantage of 57 per cent to 41 per cent among likely voters, with women voters going 66 to 32 per cent in his favour.

Trump pushes for limited virus aid ahead of election

Facing an outcry from all sides over the prospect of further delay in pandemic aid for families and businesses, and trailing badly less than a month before the election, Mr Trump has shifted gears and called for limited stimulus measures.

The apparent about-face came hours after he torpedoed promising negotiations with Democrats in Congress on a comprehensive aid package, and ruled out any new stimulus spending until after the November 3 election, despite the economic damage wrought by COVID-19.

But after his hardline stance drew a flurry of outrage and concerned statements even from conservative voices and the powerful US Chamber of Commerce, and stocks fell sharply, Mr Trump returned to Twitter to call for stand-alone measures to help airlines and provide new stimulus checks to individuals.

The shift allows Mr Trump to say he is fighting for American companies and workers, knowing Democrats are unlikely to agree — since passing narrowly-targeted measures would surrender their leverage to win concessions on elements like badly-needed support for state and local governments.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mr Trump was trying to bounce back from the “terrible mistake” of suspending talks “and the Republicans in Congress are going down the drain with him on that.” “It’s hard to see any clear, sane path on what he’s doing but the fact is, he saw the political downside of his statement of walking away from the negotiations,” the Democratic leader said on ABC’s The View talk show.

Economists say a new aid package to follow on the $US2.2 trillion CARES package approved in late March, much of which has expired, is critical to shoring up the world’s largest economy and staving off massive layoffs amid the downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Airlines already have begun implementing tens of thousands of job cuts — and issued pleas to policymakers to renew direct aid — and Disney alone is cutting 28,000 US workers due to severe hits to the tourism sector.

“Washington’s failure to enact additional COVID relief will be felt on Main Streets and at kitchen tables across the United States,” US Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Neil Bradley said in a statement.

AFP