President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 while traveling in Las Vegas on Wednesday, experiencing “mild symptoms” including “general malaise,” the White House announced.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden will fly to his home in Delaware, where he will “self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.” The statement specifies that Biden tested positive for Covid-19 following his first event in Las Vegas. The White House promised to provide regular updates on the president’s status.
Biden’s official X account reiterated the message, assuring that the president will “continue to work to get the job done for the American people.”
In a statement with the medical terms “rhinorrhea” and “malaise” misspelled, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, said that Biden presented “with upper respiratory symptoms, to include rhinorhea [sic] (runny nose) and non-productive cough, with general mailaise [sic].”
Despite “feeling okay” for his first event of the day, Biden was administered a Covid test, which returned positive. His vital signs were normal, said O’Connor, with a respiratory rate of 16, a temperature of 97.8, and a pulse oximetry reading of 97 percent. He has begun his first dose of Paxlovid, a prescription antiviral for mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults who are at high risk for progression to severe disease.
Biden will follow CDC guidelines for symptomatic individuals while awaiting PCR confirmation testing, added the physician.
“I talked to him just a few minutes ago,” First Lady Jill Biden told reporters shortly after the diagnosis, while traveling to Detroit to visit a summer learning program. “He’s doing fine. He’s doing good.”
Biden’s Arrangements in Las Vegas
Biden was scheduled to address the UnidosUS annual event in Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon to rally Hispanic voters ahead of the November election. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, UnidosUS is the nation’s largest Latino-centered civil-rights organization, and the major three-day event is “centered around November’s elections and the crucial Latino vote that could swing them.”
Biden had been expected to announce a new policy that would allow certain U.S. citizens’ spouses without legal status to apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship without needing to leave the United States. The policy aims to lift the threat of deportation for hundreds of thousands of individuals married to U.S. citizens.
Biden was slated to give a keynote speech in front of 1,500 attendees. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra, the first Latino to ever serve in that position, was also slated to speak.
Instead, the guests were waiting for an hour and a half before UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía shared the news of Biden’s diagnosis, stating that the president was “really sorry,” and was sending his regrets that he could not deliver the remarks. She thanked the group for their “patience and understanding.”
Murguía issued a statement on X expressing her disappointment that the president could not join the group as planned. At the same time, she said, “we very much appreciate that the President, following doctor’s orders, called off his appearance to prioritize the health and safety of others.”
It is worth noting that Hispanic Americans’ views of President Joe Biden have significantly declined since he took office. According to a just-released AP-NORC poll, only 36 percent of Hispanic adults now hold a somewhat or very favorable opinion of Biden, a notable drop from about 60 percent in January 2021. Two-thirds of Hispanic adults currently have an unfavorable view of the president. In 2020, 63 percent of Hispanic voters cast their ballots for Biden.
On Wednesday evening, Biden’s personal X account posted a thread beginning with the statement, “I’m sick.” The next post in the thread clarified, “of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election,” and included a link to the Biden campaign’s fundraising page.
Earlier in the day, Biden visited the Original Lindo Michoacán restaurant in Las Vegas, where he greeted diners and participated in an interview with Univision. He appeared to be in good spirits, mingling with patrons and posing for photos.
The day before, Biden spoke to 4,700 people at the NAACP National Convention and visited several black-owned Las Vegas businesses to speak to the community. He also gave a couple of interviews, including one for Univision and BET News.
Biden and Covid
At 81 years old, Biden has been vaccinated and is current on his recommended annual booster dose for Covid. He assured reporters as he boarded Air Force One from Vegas, “I feel good,” and gave them a thumbs-up.
This is not Biden’s first encounter with Covid-19. Despite being fully vaccinated and boosted, he previously tested positive twice in the summer of 2022, experiencing a primary case and a subsequent rebound infection.
Many X users took the opportunity to mock Biden for his endorsement of Covid vaccines that, according to his previous statements, were 98-percent effective in preventing infections.
Despite testing positive for Covid, the president did not wear a mask as he boarded the plane, as appears from numerous media reports.
“The vaccines are so safe and effective that Biden now has both dementia and Covid, and the masks worked so well that he is not wearing one even with Covid,” wrote international producer and medical-freedom movement activist Robin Monotti.
According to the New York Post, Biden landed back in Delaware around 10:30 p.m. As he exited Air Force One, still without a mask, he told reporters, “I am doing well.”
Biden’s diagnosis comes amid intense scrutiny of his health and stamina. His debate with former President Donald Trump raised concerns among high-profile Democrats and their donors and the mainstream media about his ability to endure another presidential campaign.
