President Donald Trump appeared fit and in good spirits on Oct. 12 in Florida at the first rally after recovering from COVID-19.
The president spent just over an hour on a makeshift outdoor stage on a tarmac in Sanford, Florida. He delivered his characteristic rapid-fire speech, lauding his administration’s accomplishments, criticizing opponents, and urging supporters in Florida to vote early, including by mail.
Trump arrived in Florida hours after his physician, Sean Conley, confirmed that the president had tested negative for two consecutive days for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the coronavirus. The president contracted the virus earlier this month but recovered rapidly during a four-day hospital stay. The president is “not infectious to others,” Conley said in a memo.
“One thing with me, the nice part, I went through it. Now, they say I’m immune,” Trump said.
“I feel so powerful. I’ll walk into that,” he added, pointing at the crowd. “I’ll kiss everyone in that audience. I’ll kiss the guys and the beautiful women, and then everybody—just give you a big fat kiss.”
The president has repeatedly emphasized his immunity to the virus in an apparent contrast to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden who by all accounts has not contracted the disease.
Biden held a rally in Ohio earlier the same day at a drive-in rally featuring 30 socially distant cars. The former Vice President later delivered a speech to a small, socially distant audience at the Cincinnati Museum Center.
Vice President Mike Pence toured the state the same day and spoke to a crowd of more than a hundred supporters in Columbus.