During an interview with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo, President Donald Trump suggested that he may have contracted COVID-19 while meeting with the families of fallen service members
"I meet a lot of people. I have to. I'm the president of the country. I can't hang around in a basement, so I figured there would be a chance that I would catch it," the President said.
Trump met with the families of nearly two dozen fallen soldiers at the White House nearly four days before his first public positive COVID-19 test.
"Sometimes I'd be within groups, for instance, Gold Star families," the former reality TV show host said.
"I met with Gold Star families. I didn't want to cancel that."
Photos from the event show COVID-19 CDC guidelines seemingly being broken. The indoor event was set up with chairs close together and many attendees did not wear masks. Making matters worse, the hotel chain owner explained that people would try to hug him and make physical contact throughout the event.
"They tell me these stories, and I can't say 'Back up. Stand ten feet.' You know, I just can't do it," he said.
"They come within an inch of my face sometimes. They want to hug me, and they want to kiss me, and they do, and frankly, I'm not telling them to back up. I'm not doing it, but I did say it's like, you know, it's obviously dangerous. It's a dangerous thing, I guess, if you go by the COVID thing."
Nearly a week ago today, President Donald Trump revealed that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Since then, a number of top officials have reportedly tested positive including White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller and Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany. The New York native spent the weekend at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. However, he has since returned to the White House.
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