President Trump’s doctors said Sunday he could be released from Walter Reed medical center as early as Monday if his symptoms keep improving. This is good to hear, but it also underscores the need for the White House to be transparent about Mr. Trump’s condition on a daily basis.
Sunday’s briefing was more forthcoming than Saturday’s fiasco when the President’s physician, Scott Conley, was evasive on whether Mr. Trump had at any time been administered oxygen. That refusal served no purpose, as the media naturally took it as an invitation to find the answer. The press was soon reporting that Mr. Trump had received oxygen at the White House when his breathing was labored before he was taken to Walter Reed on Friday.
Dr. Conley also was confusing about when Mr. Trump was first diagnosed, referring to the President having been 72 hours into the disease. That would have meant his positive test was Wednesday, not Thursday evening as the original White House statement had said. Dr. Conley later cleared that up in a statement and confirmed the Thursday test. The doctor is a rookie in this media cauldron, and he said Sunday he was trying to convey optimism. But candor is better because there is no hiding the truth about Mr. Trump’s Covid-19 condition for long.
Even stranger was the briefing immediately after the Saturday press conference when an official told the press pool on background that Mr. Trump’s vital signs had been worrying in the last 24 hours and that the next 48 hours would be crucial to determining the President’s path to recovery. “We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery,” the briefer reportedly said.
Dr. Conley had said only moments before that Mr. Trump’s breathing as well as his heart, liver and kidney function were normal. The Associated Press later reported that the official speaking on background was Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff.
These sound more like mistakes than deliberate attempts to deceive, but the lesson for the White House is to let Dr. Conley and his medical team do the talking on the President’s health. And don’t undercut their credibility by whispering mixed messages on background or by muzzling the medical team.
Some matters may need to be kept from the public for reasons of personal privacy, but then make that clear. That cannot include such basic issues as the status of Mr. Trump’s disease, the seriousness of his symptoms, and the details of his treatment regimen. The media have medical specialists on call who will quickly second guess every non-disclosure, often with political malice aforethought.
Americans want to know the truth about the President’s health, which bears on current governance and the election in a month. The White House needs to reassure Americans not with happy talk but with daily medical briefings that are candid and complete.
— The Wall Street Journal
