October 4, 2020

Trump, Infected With COVID-19, Goes on a Surprise Drive-By to Greet Supporters Outside Walter Reed

Gripas Yuri/ZUMA

The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date. Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

Two days after entering Walter Reed Medical Center for COVID-19 treatment, President Trump on Sunday took a motorcade ride outside the hospital during which he waved at supporters from the back of an SUV. The surprise plan, which Trump announced in a Twitter video shortly before he departed Walter Reed, immediately invited questions about the safety of Secret Service agents, who were seen riding along with the coronavirus-infected president inside a black Suburban SUV with the windows rolled up.

In the same video that announced his car ride, Trump said that he had met with soldiers and first-responders during his hospital stay. “What a group,” he said before revealing that he intended to “pay a little surprise” to the “patriots” stationed outside. The shocking episode came amid overwhelming uncertainty over the president’s condition—hours earlier, Trump’s physician admitted to trying to conceal that the president had been on oxygen the day before in order to “reflect an upbeat attitude”—as well as intense criticism over the White House’s reckless dismissal of social-distancing measures and other key health recommendations aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.

“This administration doesn’t care about the Secret Service,” a current agent told the Wahington Post after Trump tested positive for COVID-19 last week. The same report detailed a staggeringly lackadaisical approach to protective measures within the White House, with Secret Service officials denied requests for more secure N95 masks. 

Take the next step: Help us fight for the truth.

Investigative journalism, like the story you just read, takes time to do. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices.

We can afford to take that time because we don’t report to an oligarch or corporation with a special agenda. We report to you, and for you. That’s why we unabashedly pursue the truth and relentlessly shine a light into the darkness.

In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

So, we’re asking: Will you support independent journalism that demands those in power answer for their actions?

Take the next step: Help us fight for the truth.

Investigative journalism, like the story you just read, takes time to do. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices

We can afford to take that time because we don’t report to an oligarch or corporation with a special agenda. We report to you, and for you. That’s why we unabashedly pursue the truth and relentlessly shine a light into the darkness.

In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

So, we’re asking: Will you support independent journalism that demands those in power answer for their actions?

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate