President Donald Trump to undertake televised 'medical evaluation'

9 October 2020, 21:21

Donald Trump will undertake a televised virtual “medical evaluation” this evening, as he makes his first on-camera interview appearance since being diagnosed with coronavirus.

The Fox News interview follows US President's announcement that he plans to get back on the campaign trail ahead of the 3 November election against Democrat Joe Biden.

On Thursday, Mr Trump’s doctor gave him the green light to resume his rallies, saying he had “completed his course of therapy” for coronavirus.

It is unclear if the President is still contagious, but the White House said he would be tested again on Friday.

The interview will take place on Fox’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show, at 1am UK time on Saturday and will be one of the first chances Americans to see the president’s condition, after his three-day hospitalisation.

Mr Trump has not been seen in public since his return from Walter Reed Military Medical Center on Monday, where he received experimental treatments for Covid-19.

Trump seen breathing heavily on White House balcony

Dr. Marc Siegel, a Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox contributor will undertake the examination.

While Dr Siegel told Fox Business “a lot of things will be revealed... that haven’t been revealed before”, it remains to be seen how much information the public will gather from the virtual consultation.

“It is virtual, but keep in mind I have being doing tele-visits now for months and I’m getting quite good at them now,” Dr Siegel said, “This will not be an official tele-visit, but it will be kind of like a doctor patient evaluation, where I ask questions and he gives answers.”

He added: “I guarantee you, you know me, I will have a clinical impression here and it is going to be conducted as a doctor-patient exchange. Not that he is my patient, but me as a doctor.”

However, the impartiality of Dr Siegel’s evaluation could be in question, after he told Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to “stop pontificating” about President Trump’s health on Fox News on Wednesday.

Speaker Pelosi has been raising questions about Mr Trump’s medical fitness since contracting coronavirus and been demanding more transparency about his health.

On Friday she unveiled legislation that would set up a commission to assess the President's ability to lead the country and ensure continuity of government.

Ms Pelosi insists the proposal is not about President Trump, but is inspired by a need for greater congressional oversight over his administration.

With only three weeks to the election, it the bill has no hope of becoming law and was dismissed as “an absurd proposal" by White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

The stunt follows widespread criticism of the Trump administration over a perceived lack of transparency with regards to the President’s health.

Mr Trump first announced that he and First Lady, Melania, had tested positive for coronavirus late last Thursday. However, questions remain over when the White House first knew the President had contracted the virus.

The President was flown to a military hospital “as a precautionary measure”, with doctors revealing he was previously given oxygen at the White House after his blood-oxygen level fell below the crucial 95 percent mark.

James O'Brien's reaction to Trump contracting coronavirus

Mr Trump was then treated with experimental antibody cocktail Regeneron, although doctors have refused to provide specifics about any damage to the 74-year-old’s lungs.

On Saturday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told the media Mr Trump’s condition was “very concerning”.

But later that evening the President tweeted a video saying he was “starting to feel good” and he was released on Monday.