US President eager to return to Oval Office: Aide

WASHINGTON • United States President Donald Trump is eager to get back to work in the Oval Office, and safety protocols are in place if he chooses to do so, said the White House's chief of staff Mark Meadows yesterday.

Mr Trump has been working from a makeshift space in his residence in the White House since Monday, when he was discharged from hospital to continue his Covid-19 treatment at home.

"He wanted to go to the Oval yesterday. If he decides to go to the Oval, we've got safety protocols there," Mr Meadows told reporters, adding that there would be adequate personal protective equipment and ventilation.

He described Mr Trump, who has received treatment with a steroid that is normally used in the most severe cases, as being "in very good health".

There were conflicting accounts yesterday over whether Mr Trump had already been back at his office.

A top aide said the President had spent time in the Oval Office on Tuesday, but this was later contradicted by the White House.

"The government is functioning," White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC yesterday.

"The President actually showed up in the Oval Office yesterday with extra precautions, with respect to his Covid-19."

However, Mr Trump's spokesman Ben Williamson said otherwise. "While the President wanted to be in the Oval Office yesterday, he was not there - he stayed back in the residence working from there," tweeted Mr Williamson.

It had been reported earlier that some of Mr Trump's aides do not want the restless President to leave the White House residence yet but were unsure how long he would continue to isolate himself.

Aides said that Mr Trump made calls from the White House on Tuesday and roamed the areas of the presidential residence that had been set up for him.

Although he was described as itching to get back into his office and show that he was in charge, a potential live address to the nation was discussed but scrapped in favour of a planned taped one.

His physician released a statement on Tuesday afternoon, saying the President reported "no symptoms" of the disease after a "restful first night at home".

Meanwhile, additional measures are being taken to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus after a number of White House aides tested positive, according to Mr Meadows.

One of the President's military aides, Ms Jayna McCarron, tested positive, as did one of the President's valets, who travelled with Mr Trump last week, according to people familiar with the matter.

"Additional protocols" have been introduced, "cordoning off" different working groups at the White House, Mr Meadows said on Fox News yesterday. "A number of precautions are in place."

The top White House physician, Dr Sean Conley, had said that Mr Trump will continue to recuperate in isolation at the White House until he is no longer infectious, but the President has made clear he is eager to get back to his re-election campaign.

Mr Trump and his campaign have sought to cast his return from the hospital as a triumphant presidential moment just weeks before election day, but he has fallen far behind his challenger Joe Biden in both public opinion polls and fund raising.

A CNN poll taken after Mr Trump's chaotic first debate with Mr Biden, released on Tuesday, found the President trailing the former vice-president by 16 points nationally.

Mr Trump has been looking for options on how to get his message out and cut into Mr Biden's lead in battleground states where the Nov 3 election will be decided, advisers said. They said they had been discussing Mr Trump delivering a national address, while a speech to senior voters is being contemplated for today.

Yesterday, Mr Trump labelled Mr Biden "wacko" in a tweet linked to a clip of Mr Biden on the campaign trail telling a group of young dancers he wanted to "see them dancing when they're four years older".

"He's been a wacko for years, and everyone knows it," Mr Trump tweeted, with regard to Mr Biden's apparent reference to his ambition to be campaigning for re-election in four years' time.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG, REUTERS, NYTIMES