President Trump pledged Monday to provide Americans the same groundbreaking treatments he benefited from during his recovery from the coronavirus, seizing the campaign limelight in his first rally since testing positive for the virus at the start of October.
Mr. Trump showed no obvious signs of illness as he gleefully flung campaign swag — it’s unclear what — to the crowd like a stadium vendor with peanuts.
“Here we are!” Mr. Trump told supporters in Sanford after nearly two weeks on the sidelines. “We’re going to make this country greater than ever before.”
The president, trailing in many polls to Joseph R. Biden, is trying to jumpstart his campaign after catching the virus that’s killed about 215,000 people in the U.S. He held a brief rally-style event at the White House on Saturday and is scheduled to campaign in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and in Iowa on Wednesday.
Mr. Trump’s doctor said he is no longer considered contagious, after receiving multiple treatments and spending three nights at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last week. The doctor also said the president tested negative on an antigen card for successive days.
“We are going to take whatever the hell they gave me and we’re going to distribute it around to hospitals,” Mr. Trump said. “Everyone is going to have the same damn thing.”
Mr. Trump received remdesivir and dexamethasone — typical treatments for COVID-19 — but also received an “antibody cocktail” from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
The president says the drug is akin to a “cure,” though Regeneron’s CEO told Sunday talks shows that supply is limited so the drug would have to be rationed.
Mr. Trump seemed to have his New York-tinged voice and swagger back, taking a few swings at Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden and the notion he could be considered a politician, despite being president for nearly four years.
“I’m embarrassed by the term,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump, who did not wear a mask when boarding or disembarking from Air Force One, stayed on message in his early remarks, pledging to safeguard entitlements and promoting Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a pick viewed as a way to reel in conservative voters who may not like the president’s style but want a clear majority on the high court.
