One week after testing positive for COVID-19 and after spending several days getting treatment at a military hospital, United States President Donald Trump says he wants to hold a campaign rally this Saturday.
"I think I'm going to try doing a rally on Saturday night if we have enough time to put it together," Mr Trump told Fox News on Thursday, adding that it would "probably be in Florida or Pennsylvania".
He also appeared to sidestep questions about whether he had tested negative for the virus since his diagnosis last week.
Asked by Fox host Sean Hannity whether he had gotten another test, Mr Trump said: “Probably the test will be tomorrow, the actual test, because there’s no reason to test all the time.”
Earlier on Thursday, after it was changed to a virtual event.
Mr Trump blasted the format change announced by the nonpartisan commission in charge of the debates, expressing concern his microphone could be cut off.
“I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all about,” Mr Trump said in a nearly hour-long phone morning interview with Fox Business. “You sit behind a computer and do a debate - it’s ridiculous, and then they cut you off whenever they want.”
Mr Trump’s decision not to participate in a virtual debate would mean the second and final debate between the two White House contenders will be on 22 October, less than two weeks before the 3 November election.
Donald Trump removes his face mask as he salutes from the Truman Balcony at the White House following several days in hospital Source: ABACA
In lieu of the 15 October debate, Mr Biden’s campaign quickly arranged a town hall-style event in Philadelphia that night, to be hosted by ABC News.
The chairman of the debate commission, Frank Fahrenkopf, told the Associated Press the switch to a virtual format was not being reconsidered.
Some Trump advisers have questioned his decision not to participate in the new debate format, arguing he would miss an opportunity to make his case to millions of voters tuned in, a source familiar with the situation said.
Mr Trump spent three days at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre hospitalised with COVID-19 before returning to the White House on Monday evening.
Democratic presidential candidate former Joe Biden arrives at the Queen Theater for a virtual town hall event on 7 October. Source: AAP
While he has released several videos on Twitter, the president has not appeared in public since he returned home from the hospital. Mr Biden has continued to campaign, with events scheduled on Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Earlier, the White House physician said Mr Trump should be able to resume "public engagements" from Saturday having responded "extremely well" to COVID-19 treatment.
"Saturday will be day ten since Thursday's diagnosis, and based on the trajectory of advanced diagnostics the team has been conducting, I fully anticipate the President's safe return to public engagements at that time," Mr Trump's doctor Sean Conley said in a statement.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines say people who are severely ill with COVID-19 might need to stay home for up to 20 days after symptoms first appear.
Since his diagnosis, Mr Trump has received an experimental antibody treatment, the antiviral drug remdesivir and the steroid dexamethasone.
With only 26 days to go until the 3 November election, the president is keen to get back on the campaign trail to rally his base.
Mr Biden, who has sharply criticised Mr Trump’s handling of the pandemic, is beating the Republican in national polls, though that lead is narrower in some of the swing states that may determine the election’s outcome.
Mr Trump’s illness has kept him from crisscrossing the country to rally support and raise cash in the final weeks before the election. A return to in-person events would be aimed at convincing voters he is healthy enough to campaign and to govern.
He is expected to host a “virtual rally” on Friday by appearing on conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh’s radio program.
