Oct. 6 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump has drawn criticism for his decision to leave the hospital and return to the White House while he's still infected with COVID-19 -- and for boasting that Americans shouldn't fear the disease.
Trump was hospitalized Friday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus. He was discharged from the hospital Monday evening.
Shortly after his release, Trump tweeted, "Don't be afraid of COVID."
"Don't let it dominate your life," he added. "We have developed, under the Trump administration, some really great drugs & knowledge."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, called Trump's message a "bone of contention."
"You look at the now 210,000 people in the United States of America who have died, and you talk about the 7 million who have been infected, the 1 million who have died globally," he said in an interview with the New Yorker.
"I think anybody who is looking at this realistically has to say this is a very serious situation. ... It is a very serious disease that we need to reckon with."
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has previously criticized the Trump administration for communicating mixed messages to the public about the virus.
Trump's message also drew angry reactions online, where health professionals, politicians and other prominent figures denounced it as irresponsible, noting the coronavirus has so far killed more than 1 million people worldwide -- and many more will follow before the crisis is over.
"They showed me [Trump's tweet], he said 'don't let COVID control your life.' Tell that to the 205,000 families that lost somebody," Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden told WPLG-TV in Florida.
Biden said Trump picked up COVID-19 because he refused to follow health guidelines and routinely wear a mask.
"Where millions of people have lost their jobs, where people are facing hunger and eviction, to say don't be afraid of the COVID-19 is an absurd statement," Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said while campaigning for Biden in Ann Arbor, Mich.
"Of course, we should be afraid of it. It has wreaked havoc on our economy and on all of our lives."
"I am struggling for words -- this is crazy," said Harald Schmidt, assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania. "It is just utterly irresponsible."
"It will lead to more casual behavior, which will lead to more transmission of the virus, which will lead to more illness, and more illness will lead to more deaths," added Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
"A super spreader of dangerous untruths," tweeted David Axelrod, a senior White House adviser under former President Barack Obama. "Do not follow his advice. Yes, BE afraid of COVID, and act accordingly: masks; social distancing; frequent hand-washing."
Experts say there are several reasons to be concerned about COVID-19, among them: There is no vaccine yet, the coronavirus is highly contagious, many carriers are asymptomatic and flu season is coming.
Some critics pointed to the high level of care Trump received from physicians at the White House and Walter Reed -- care the American public does not have access to.
"You've been under round-the-clock care by the best doctors using the best drugs," actor Chris Evans tweeted. "You just don't care. This is reckless to a shocking degree, even for you."
"Don't be afraid of COVID? Perhaps if one has access to a team of physicians, experimental treatments, and a four-room hospital suite," tweeted Jesuit priest and magazine editor James Martin. "But for everyone else, take every precaution against the disease that has already killed 1,000,000 people worldwide."
President Donald Trump hospitalized for COVID-19
President Donald Trump returns to the Truman Balcony of the White House on Monday after three days of treatment for COVID-19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo
Trump removes his face mask and continued to downplay the pandemic, telling Americans not to fear the virus. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo
Trump thanked the medical team at Walter Reed for his care, which included some experimental treatments. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo
Trump, joined by Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, returns to the White House aboard Marine One. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo
A member of a cleaning crew disinfects the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, where a
coronavirus outbreak has infected visitors, journalists and staff. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI |
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A member of the cleaning crew wearing protective gear sprays disinfectant in the lower press area of the White House. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo
A Trump supporter in campaign gear -- including a face mask -- joins a gathering outside the hospital Monday before Trump was discharged. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
A woman argues with a person dressed as the Grim Reaper outside Walter Reed on Monday. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Trump supporters participate in an impromptu rally outside the hospital before the president's departure on Monday. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
The president physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a briefing Monday before Trump's release that Trump "may not entirely be out of the woods yet." Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI | License Photo
Trump walks out of the hospital, where he was given intravenous drugs and supplemental oxygen to fight the virus. Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI | License Photo
Marine One lands to pick up Trump from the hospital. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Notes and signs of well wishes are left outside the hospital during Trump's stay. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
The president posted several tweets Monday morning, criticizing the media and calling for his supporters to vote. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Alyssa Farah, White House director of strategic communications, speaks to reporters at the White House on Sunday. Photo by Michael Reynolds/UPI | License Photo
Meadows listens in the background as Conley gives an update Sunday on the condition of the president, saying he could be released
as early as Monday. Photo by Michael Reynolds/UPI |
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Walter Reed has a secure presidential suite. Photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI | License Photo
Conley briefs reporters on the president's condition Saturday morning at Walter Reed. Conley said Trump was doing
"very well." Photo by Rod Lamkey/UPI |
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Trump waves from the presidential motorcade upon arriving at Walter Reed on Friday. He also made a
"surprise" motorcade visit outside the hospital on Sunday. Photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI |
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The hospital is run by the U.S. Department of Defense. Photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI | License Photo
Trump exits the Marine One helicopter with Meadows on arrival at Walter Reed after the short flight from the White House. Photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI | License Photo
U.S. Secret Service agents wearing protective face masks stand by as Trump departs from the South Lawn of the White House on Marine One for the short flight to Bethesda on Friday. Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo
White House staff wear protective face masks as they wait for the president's departure from the White House. Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo
Trump boards Marine One for the trip to the hospital. Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo
Trump, accompanied by staffers, walks from the White House to the helicopter under his own power. Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo
Trump exits the White House. Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo
First lady Melania Trump, who has also contracted COVID-19, remained in the White House to recover. Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany walks away from the microphones after talking to members of the media outside the West Wing of the White House on Friday. On Monday,
she tested positive for COVID-19. Photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI |
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