Melania Trump says Barron had coronavirus
In a blog post about her experience recovering from Covid-19, the first lady said that her first thought when she received her diagnosis was her son.
Barron Trump, the teenage son of President Donald Trump, contracted coronavirus along with his father and mother earlier this month, first lady Melania Trump revealed on Wednesday.
In a blog post about her experience recovering from Covid-19, the first lady said that her first thought when she received her diagnosis was her son.
“To our great relief he tested negative, but again, as so many parents have thought over the past several months, I couldn’t help but think ‘what about tomorrow or the next day?’” she wrote on the White House website. “My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive.”
The first lady noted that Barron, 14, exhibited no symptoms, a departure from herself and the president, who have both said they experienced mild symptoms.
The president announced that he and the first lady had tested positive in the early-morning hours on Oct. 2, after the news that one of Trump’s closest aides, Hope Hicks, had contracted the virus.
In the hours and days after, nearly three dozen cases in people who came into contact with Trump or his aides were reported, including his reelection campaign manager and press secretary. But the first lady’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, told the media that the first couple’s son had tested negative.
While Melania Trump spent the first weekend of her diagnosis recovering at the White House, the president was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., “out of an abundance of caution,” where he spent the weekend receiving at least one experimental drug.
“I chose to go a more natural route in terms of medicine, opting more for vitamins and healthy food,” the first lady said of her course of treatment. “We had wonderful caretakers around us and we will be forever grateful for the medical care and professional discretion we received from Dr. Conley and his team,” she said, referring to Sean Conley, the White House physician.
She added: “It was an unfamiliar feeling for me to be the patient instead of a person trying to encourage our nation to stay healthy and safe.”
The first lady wrote that she and Barron had both tested negative for the virus since their initial diagnoses, and Trump resumed campaign travel for the first time on Monday, when his physician announced for the first time that Trump had tested negative again, as well.
Barron Trump’s diagnosis of Covid-19 comes as the West Wing became its own coronavirus hot spot, while the president has been criticized for practicing lax public health protocols and continuing to play down the virus, including repeatedly and falsely suggesting that younger children are immune from it.
Asked about Barron Trump’s bout with coronavirus by reporters on Wednesday, the president responded that his youngest son was doing “fine.”
The first lady noted in her blog post that when Trump “was taken to Walter Reed as a precaution, I spent much of my time reflecting on my family. I also thought about the hundreds of thousands of people across our country who have been impacted by this illness that infects people with no discrimination.”
She also acknowledged “just how fortunate my family is to have received the kind of care that we did,” expressing her gratitude to first responders and others dealing with the virus.