President Joe Biden tested positive for covid-19 on Wednesday, according to an announcement from the White House. And while the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden is experiencing “mild” symptoms, it’s not yet clear how soon the president will be able to get back on the campaign trail in what is already a chaotic and uncertain race.
“Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement posted online. “He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms.”
“He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” she continued. “The White House will provide regular updates on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.”
Biden was scheduled to appear at the UnidosUS convention in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday and UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguia was the first to make the announcement that Biden would not be appearing because he has covid, according to the Review-Journal newspaper.
Biden took to X after the news came out about his health. What first appeared to be confirmation that he was sick with covid, ended up being a bit of a troll tweet on Elon Musk and other tech billionaires who recently pledged their support for Trump.
of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election.
And if you agree, pitch in here.https://t.co/V93cYUUFQu
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 17, 2024
Biden continued to experience mild symptoms of covid on Thursday, according to his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor. He doesn’t have a fever and is on Paxlovid.
The fact that Biden contracted covid-19 shouldn’t be a surprise, given the fact that the entire West is experiencing a surge in cases this summer, according to wastewater sampling data compiled by the CDC. In fact, your humble blogger predicted exactly this scenario when Biden gave a speech in Madison, Wisconsin on July 5 in response to calls that he should drop out. As anyone could see from how close Biden was getting to the crowd, it was only a matter of time. One man at the Madison event looked like he was doing his best to breathe directly into the president’s mouth.
But it’s not clear yet where Biden may have contracted the virus. It could’ve been any number of places. For instance, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, tested positive for covid a couple of weeks ago as well. Harris didn’t get covid-19 as far as anyone knows.
Covid-19 is less deadly than it was at the start of the pandemic, but at 81 years old, Biden is still in a higher risk group than the general population for serious illness and death. Biden’s age and cognitive ability were already a big question mark in his campaign and this will certainly complicate his decision to stay in the race. But with assassins trying to take out Republican candidate Donald Trump, and disease doing its best against Biden, it’s really anyone’s guess what may happen in this race. It’s going to be a very stressful four months, that’s for sure.
