UPDATE: President Joe Biden wrote on X/Twitter about his Covid diagnosis.
Biden said, “I tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon, but I am feeling good and thank everyone for the well wishes. I will be isolating as I recover, and during this time I will continue to work to get the job done for the American people.”
His campaign account posted a tweet that said merely, “I’m sick.” But a follow-up tweet read, “of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election. And if you agree, pitch in here.”
Related Stories
PREVIOUSLY: President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid and is experiencing “mild symptoms,” the White House said Wednesday.
Watch on Deadline
The president canceled a planned speaking engagement in Las Vegas before the group UnidosUS.
“Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “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. 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.”
The organizer of the Las Vegas event informed attendees that Biden tested positive for the virus and would not appear. He had earlier done interviews with Latino media, including Univision, as well as other public appearances.
Biden addressed the NAACP convention, also in Las Vegas, on Tuesday.
The president’s doctor said that this afternoon, Biden had “upper respiratory symptoms, to include rhinorhea (runny nose) and non-productive cough, with general malaise. He felt okay for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point of care testing for COVID-19 was conducted, and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus.”
The doctor said Biden will be “self-isolating in accordance with CDC guidance for symptomatic individuals. PCR confirmation testing will be pending. His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97%. The President has received his first dose of Paxlovid.”
Biden is returning to Rehoboth Beach, DE to self isolate at his home. He gave a thumbs-up to members of the press, and was not wearing a mask as he boarded Air Force One, albeit he was alone. “I feel good,” he said.
Biden previously had Covid in July 2022. Even though most Covid restrictions have been lifted since the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the virus is still around, and some cities have seen a summer uptick.
Biden, 81, has been defending his decision to stay in the race amid calls from some prominent Democrats to drop out, following a dismal debate performance. In a statement earlier today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) urged the president to withdraw.
In an interview with BET News on Tuesday, Biden said that he would reconsider staying in the race “if I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody — if doctors came to me and said you got this problem.”