President Joe Biden posted a bizarre tweet shortly after testing positive for COVID, saying “I’m sick,” leaving America guessing about the severity of his condition.
Three minutes later he added: “About Elon Musk and his rich friends trying to buy this election.”
He then asked for money to help “defeat” Trump.
The confusing messages emerged after Biden was forced to cancel a speech in Las Vegas as he tried to resist widespread calls to withdraw from the 2024 race due to his age.
The 81-year-old president took the COVID test when he developed a runny nose and cough.
He later cautiously boarded Air Force One, using the shorter of the two flights of stairs, for a flight back to the East Coast to begin his isolation.
Biden, who was not wearing a mask, gave a thumbs up before boarding and said, “I feel good.”
The White House The doctor said the president was feeling “generally unwell” and will now go into isolation Delaware.
The West Wing reported that the president has been vaccinated and given a booster, and that he took a dose of Paxlovid on Wednesday afternoon.
President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID and has been forced to cancel a campaign speech in Las Vegas. He is pictured greeting a supporter at a Mexican restaurant on Wednesday
Earlier on Wednesday, he spoke to supporters at a Las Vegas restaurant as Democrats renewed calls for him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
In an interview this week, he said he would only quit if doctors told him to and he had a medical reason that made it necessary.
“If I had a medical condition and doctors came to me and said, I have this problem and I have that problem,” Biden said in an interview with BET News.
The president’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, has said Biden is mentally and physically fit to serve as commander in chief.
But many Democrats have questioned Biden’s suitability for the White House since his performance in the debate against Donald Trump last month, in which he fumbled for words and at times stared blankly into the camera.
Biden, meanwhile, has repeatedly changed his position on what would be required for him to leave office.
He told ABC News he would only drop out if the “Lord Almighty” told him to. At a news conference in Washington, D.C., he said he would stay in the race unless his aides came to prove to him that he could never win.
As he boarded Air Force One without a mask for the flight back to the East Coast to isolate, he gave a thumbs up and said, “I’m good.”
A COVID-positive Biden walks past Marines as he takes the shorter flight of stairs to Air Force One for the flight from Las Vegas to the East Coast
In an interview with BET, Biden said for the first time that he expected to “move on” after one term and “hand it off to somebody else.”
But he decided to run again because he believed his ‘wisdom’ and experience would help heal the country.’
“You may remember I said I would be a transition candidate, and I thought I could put this behind me and hand it off to someone else,” Biden said.
“But I didn’t expect things to get so, so, so divided. And honestly, I think the only thing that age brings is a little bit of wisdom.”
He added that “there is much more to do, and I don’t want to give up that work just like that.”
The 81-year-old president was forced to cancel an appearance during a campaign trip after taking a test that left him with a runny nose and cough
Biden takes a selfie with a supporter at the restaurant, just hours before he tested positive for COVID
Janet Murguía, CEO of the Latin American civil rights organization UnidosUS, announced that Biden had tested positive and confirmed that he would not appear at a planned event in Las Vegas.
She said, “Thank you all for your patience and understanding. Unfortunately, I just had a phone call with President Biden.
‘And he expressed his deep disappointment that he could not be there this afternoon.
“The president has been at a lot of events, as we all know, and he just tested positive for COVID. So we understand, of course, that he has to take the recommended precautions and he obviously didn’t want to put anyone at risk.”
It is the third time Biden has tested positive for COVID.
The first time was on July 21, 2022, when he had mild symptoms.
Nine days later, he tested positive again, in a ‘rebound’ situation.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement: “Today, following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19.
‘He has been vaccinated and has had a booster vaccination and he has mild symptoms.
U.S. President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., July 17, 2024
President Joe Biden gives a thumbs up as he arrives to board Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas
“He will return to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to fully perform all of his duties during that time.”
She said he would “continue to perform the full duties of his position during his isolation.”
The president’s physician said in a statement that Biden was experiencing “upper respiratory symptoms,” including a “runny nose” and “coughing with general malaise.”
The doctor said, “He felt fine during his first event of the day, but since he was not feeling better, a point-of-care test for COVID-19 was performed and the results came back positive for the COVID-19 virus.
“Given this fact, the President will self-isolate in accordance with CDC guidelines for individuals with symptoms.
“His symptoms are still mild.”
He added that Biden’s temperature was normal.
