'Get the kids back to school': Donald Trump says Barron, 14, had COVID-19 for 'like two seconds' before testing negative - and says it is no excuse for schools to close
Donald Trump on Wednesday night said that his 14-year-old son Barron was recovering well from coronavirus, adding that he didn't expect him to bounce back so quickly, and insisting that children should be back in school.
Addressing a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, the president said the teenager had impressed him with his recovery.
'Barron Trump you know he had the corona 19, the China virus. It's got 20 different names, but to me Corona means Italy,' he said.
'China is China, and it came from China so he had the China virus, right?
'And he had it for such a short period of time, I don't even think he knew he had it.
'Because they're young and their immune systems are strong and they fight it off.'
He said Barron had the virus for 'like two seconds' before testing negative.
'Because people have it and it goes,' he said. 'Get the kids back to school, you've got to get the kids back to school. Get em back.'
Donald Trump said on Wednesday night that his 14-year-old son Barron is 'just fine'
The president was in Des Moines, Iowa, for a campaign rally at an airport hangar
The president said Barron's coronavirus infection was asymptomatic
'Get the kids back to school. We've got to get the kids back to school,' said Trump Wednesday
Trump, diagnosed on October 1, spent three nights being treated at the Walter Reed hospital.
He claimed on Wednesday he could have recovered from the disease without treatment.
'Maybe I would have been perfect anyway,' he said. 'I like to say I didn't need it, I would have been perfect anyway because I'm so strong.'
He also gave more detail of his own experience fighting the virus.
'It's a little tough, you know - I had the temperature and you don't feel good,' he said.
'But the scariest part is: where is it going? You know you've got a 101 or 102 and then you say: 'I don't love this'.
'You haven't had a temperature in years and then all of a sudden you have it. But you see what happens to people.'
Later in his speech, he welcomed Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable onto the stage, greeting him with an elbow bump before saying: 'Hey Dan, I'm immune and I can't give it to you, so that's good.'
Medical experts have said that Trump has no scientific basis to declare himself immune, as reinfections have happened.
Donald Trump is pictured arriving back to the White House on Wednesday night after the rally
The 77-year-old returning home after dancing and ad-libbing a lengthy speech in Des Moines
The president gave Dan Grable an elbow bump, then declared he was immune
Trump's rally had been expected to draw a crowd of up to 10,000
Barron's diagnosis was revealed by his mother, Melania Trump, on Wednesday afternoon.
She said that after she and her husband first received their positive results, 'naturally, my mind went immediately to our son.'
She said she was relieved when he tested negative at first, but kept thinking about what would happen in the days to come.
'My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive,' the first lady wrote in a statement released to social media.
The first lady said she was 'glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together.'
'Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms.'
He is now negative for COVID.
Barron Trump was last seen in public at the White House on August 27, when his father accepted the Republican Party's nomination for a second term.
It's not unusual to go months without seeing the president's youngest child as Melania Trump keeps him out of public view as much as she can.
Barron Trump was last seen in public at the White House on August 27
Melania Trump issued a major update on her health Wednesday, noting she has recovered and tested negative for COVID
But Melania Trump revealed Barron Trump, 14, tested positive in a second round of testing
President Trump, upon leaving the White House on Wednesday for a campaign rally in Des Moines, said Barron is doing 'fine.'
While the president has returned to work and a heavy campaign schedule, the notoriously private first lady gave no indication of when she will resume her public life in the update she released Wednesday.
She did address the 'negative energy' in the country with less than three weeks to go until Election Day, thanked the country for their prayers and said the first family was offering prayers to all in return.
Barron Trump was last seen in public at the White House on August 27, when his father accepted the Republican Party's nomination for a second term
President Trump said on Wednesday that Barron is doing 'fine'
Unlike the president, Melania Trump didn't check into the hospital after her diagnosis with COVID. She said she had minimal symptoms but admitted it hit her like a 'roller coaster.'
She also said she treated herself with a 'natural route' - opting for vitamins and healthy food - indicating she did not take a heavy course of medication as the president did for his illness.
'I was very fortunate as my diagnosis came with minimal symptoms, though they hit me all at once and it seemed to be a roller coaster of symptoms in the days after. I experienced body aches, a cough and headaches, and felt extremely tired most of the time,' she wrote.
'I chose to go a more natural route in terms of medicine, opting more for vitamins and healthy food.'
President Trump was on dexamethasone, a powerful steroid which can cause insomnia, mania, mood swings, and rage. It has shown promise for treating patients with a severe case of COVID-19 who are getting supplemental oxygen.
His treatment regime also included an experimental anti-viral drug that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is testing to supply antibodies that help a patient fight the disease and the antiviral drug remdesivir.
The first lady did not mention wearing a face mask and social distancing, which doctors recommend to help fight the spread of COVID. She has touted the benefits of wearing a mask more than her husband has. She has worn face coverings in public although notably not as much when she is with the president, who is not a fan of wearing them.
Melania Trump went on to decry the negative energy in the country surrounding the election, much of it there as a result of her husband's combative tone as he runs for a second term.
'We are in unprecedented times - and with the election fast approaching, it has been easy to get caught up in so much negative energy,' she said.
She said she will resume her duties soon but gave no indication when the public may see her again - either in her role as first lady or on the campaign trail.
'I am happy to report that I have tested negative and hope to resume my duties as soon as I can,' Melania wrote.
She concluded that she is praying for the country: 'I want people to know that I understand just how fortunate my family is to have received the kind of care that we did. If you are sick, or if you have a loved one who is sick—I am thinking of you and will be thinking of you every day. I pray for our country and I pray for everyone who is grappling with COVID-19 and any other illnesses or challenges.'
Melania Trump sat in the front row of the announcement of Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court - at least 12 people at that event later tested positive for COVID
Melania Trump was also with President Donald Trump at the first presidential debate in Cleveland on September 29
It's unclear how the first lady contracted the disease.
She was at the Saturday, September 26, Rose Garden announcement where President Trump formally nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. At least 12 people at that event later tested positive for COVID.
The first lady was also at the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 29, where she took her mask off after sitting in the audience - despite a request from the Cleveland Clinic for those in the audience to wear them.
The White House announced in the early hours of Friday, October 2, that the first couple was positive for COVID.
Melania, 50, was described as having a mild case. President Trump, 74, checked into Walter Reed Medical Center for four days on that Friday night.
