'I need to get out of here': Trump is reportedly desperate to leave the hospital
President Donald Trump is desperate to leave Walter Reed Medical Center after being admitted last Friday over concerns about his case of COVID-19, CNN's Dana Bash reported.
"A source familiar with POTUS phone calls from the hospital today tells me he said 'I need to get out of here,'" she said in a tweet.
She added: "He's being warned that if he rushes to leave the hospital and has a setback it would be bad for not just his health, but his re-election campaign."
CNN's Jim Acosta reported earlier in the day:
"He is done with the hospital," one of the sources said of Trump's mood yesterday.
Trump is concerned the sight of him being hospitalized "makes him look weak," the other source said.
This comports with other reports we've heard and what we know about Trump. He cares about image and public relations above almost everything else, and he hates appearing weak. In 2016, his campaign used images of Hillary Clinton fainting to portray her as unfit to be president. So it should be no surprise that he'd be anxious to leave the hospital.
The Washington Post reported Sunday of the president's much-criticized decision to ride in a car to wave to his supporters:
Trump told advisers on Sunday that he was getting bored being in the hospital and was tiring of watching coverage of his hospitalization. The ride past supporters was so impromptu that officials in charge of assembling the White House press pool were not even told.
Trump's doctors said on Saturday that he told them: "I feel like I could walk out of here today." They also said Sunday they were hopeful he could be discharged Monday. At the time of this writing his doctors had announced a new press conference would be held at 3 p.m. on Monday.
But as Bash reported, leaving prematurely poses risks. If Trump ended up having to be readmitted to the hospital, his initial choice to leave could look reckless. And it may be dangerous for his health if his condition deteriorates rapidly before he's able to get thorough medical treatment.
