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Trump Gives Video Update On His Health: Next Couple Days Are 'The Real Test'

President Trump leaves the White House for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday. Saturday night, he said in a video that he was feeling better as he continues to receive treatment for the coronavirus.
Drew Angerer
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President Trump leaves the White House for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday. Saturday night, he said in a video that he was feeling better as he continues to receive treatment for the coronavirus.

The president also said that he chose to go to Walter Reed medical center rather than be "locked up in a room upstairs" in the White House. He said he is feeling better than when he arrived Friday.

President Trump tweeted a video update from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Saturday night.

"I came here, wasn't feeling so well. I feel much better now," he said. "We're working hard to get me all the way back. I have to be back because we still have to make America great again. We've done an awfully good job of that, but we still have steps to go and we have to finish that job. And I'll be back — I think I'll be back soon."

He added, as a White House official identified as chief of staff Mark Meadows alluded to earlier in the day, that the next 48 hours remain critical.

"You don't know, over the next period of a few days, I guess that's the real test, so we'll be seeing what happens over those next couple — next couple of days," Trump said.

The president said that he chose to go to Walter Reed rather than be isolated in his room at the White House, without meeting with other people or using the Oval Office. "I was given that alternative," he said.

"I can't do that. I had to be out front. This is America. This is the United States. This is the greatest country in the world, this is the most powerful country in the world. I can't be locked up in a room upstairs," he said.

He added, "We have to confront problems."

Trump said that first lady Melania Trump is "doing very well." He made a reference to her age — "as you've probably read, she's slightly younger than me, just a little tiny bit" — and how younger people have generally fared better with the coronavirus than older people. Melania Trump is 50; Trump is 74.

"I think we're gonna have a very good result. Again, over the next few days, we're gonna probably know for sure," he said.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Dana Farrington is a digital editor coordinating online coverage on the Washington Desk — from daily stories to visual feature projects to the weekly newsletter. She has been with the NPR Politics team since President Trump's inauguration. Before that, she was among NPR's first engagement editors, managing the homepage for NPR.org and the main social accounts. Dana has also worked as a weekend web producer and editor, and has written on a wide range of topics for NPR, including tech and women's health.
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