President Joe Biden is "experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms" after testing positive for COVID-19, his doctor said Thursday.
Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a written message that the president is receiving Paxlovid, and doesn't have a fever. His vital signs are also normal, O'Connor stated.
The president tested positive for COVID Wednesday before a planned speech in Las Vegas at the UnidosUS Annual Conference. He was taken to the airport to fly to his home in Delaware. As he boarded Air Force One, he gave a thumbs up to the media before slowly climbing up the stairs and into the plane.
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The diagnosis came at a time when people inside Biden's own party are pushing for him to step down out of concerns about his health, age and whether he can beat former President Donald Trump in November.
Axios is reporting that some top Democrats believe Biden will be persuaded to drop out of the presidential race as early as this weekend.
ABC News also reports that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked Biden to drop out of the race. In response to the report, Schumer's office said, “Unless ABC’s source is Senator Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden the reporting is idle speculation. Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday.”
Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy campaign manager for the Biden-Harris campaign, dismissed any idea that Biden would not be at the top of the Democratic ticket in November 2024.
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"The president has said several times — he's staying in this race." Fulks said on Thursday. He added that the president is taking calls and involved in Zoom meetings.
During that same briefing on Thursday, Sen. Alex Padilla, a supporter of Biden, appeared to tamp down concerns about polling that shows Biden trailing Trump nationally and in most battleground states.
"The polls that I've seen show we're right in the ballgame, but we have 109 days left and we need everybody on our team working hard talking to voters, organizing, mobilizing, getting ready to get out the vote," Padilla said.
