Washington:
US President Joe Biden tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, shortly after acknowledging he would consider abandoning his difficult re-election bid if he was seriously diagnosed with the illness.
The 81-year-old Democrat cut short a campaign trip to Las Vegas after his diagnosis, giving a thumbs up to reporters from his limousine and telling them he was “feeling fine.”
The White House said Trump was suffering from a runny nose, cough and “general fatigue,” was taking COVID-19 medication and went straight to a quarantine facility at his beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware.
The diagnosis came hours after Biden said in an interview on Tuesday that he might withdraw from the presidential race “if any health issues become apparent.”
It was also the latest dramatic development in an already heated and polarizing few days of race for the White House, in which rival Donald Trump survived being assassinated at one of his own campaign rallies.
Biden has been fighting for political survival since his disastrous debate defeat against Trump nearly three weeks ago, during which he appeared tired and disoriented and raised concerns about his age.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden tested positive shortly after the first of a series of events in Las Vegas targeted at key Latino voters.
“He has received his vaccination and booster doses and is experiencing mild symptoms. He has returned to Delaware and will self-isolate while continuing to fulfill his duties during this time,” Jean-Pierre said.
In an accompanying statement, the White House said Biden’s doctor said he was suffering from “general fatigue” as well as a runny nose and a “productive cough.”
According to the statement, he has been administered the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid and has already received his first dose.
“His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is 16 and normal, his temperature is 97.8 and his pulse oxygen level is 97 percent and normal,” he added.
– ‘I feel good’ –
Later, upon arriving at the Las Vegas airport, Biden leaned out of a limousine known as “The Beast” and gave a thumbs up in greeting.
“I feel good,” he told reporters as he boarded Air Force One without a mask. “I feel good.”
Jeanette Murguia, president of Unidos, a labor union representing Latino workers, told the crowd about the diagnosis just before the White House announcement.
“I just spoke with President Biden by phone, and he expressed his deep disappointment that he will not be able to join us this afternoon,” she said.
The furor over Biden’s health has now heated up, with a growing number of Democrats calling for him to resign.
Asked what might make him reconsider running for president, Biden said in an interview with Black media outlet BET taped in Las Vegas on Tuesday: “If I were to develop some kind of health problem and someone, a doctor, came in and said, ‘You have this problem, you have that problem.’
Hours earlier, Biden had received a major blow after leading Democratic candidate Rep. Adam Schiff of California urged him to “pass the baton.”
“President Trump’s re-election would undermine the foundations of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the president can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Schiff said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
About 20 House Democrats and one senator have now called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
Most polls show Biden trailing in a close race against Trump.
Biden has insisted that Democrats have his back, but a Wednesday poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Policy Research found that nearly two-thirds want him gone.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
