Dr. James Phillips the chief of disaster medicine at the George Washington University Department of Emergency Medicine is an attending physician at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
On Sunday he witnessed something that infuriated him.
On Sunday, Donald Trump left his hospital room and waved to supporters from his motorcade then returned to his hospital room.
“That Presidential SUV is not only bulletproof but hermetically sealed against chemical attack. The risk of COVID19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play,” tweeted Dr. Phillips.
In another tweet, he stated, “Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential ‘drive-by’ just now has to be quarantined for 14 days. They might get sick.”
“They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity,” Dr. Phillips continued.
Trump was seen wearing a cloth face mask, while Secret Service members in the car with him wore N95 masks.
It was also pointed out that Trump’s driver appeared to have violated Maryland public health guidance, which asks that COVID-19-positive people in the state quarantine and isolate themselves from other people.
CNN correspondent Shimon Prokupecz tweeted out an image of the Secret Service in PPE inside the motorcade.
Before getting into the motorcade Trump released a video in which he stated that he planned to go say hello to the dozens of supporters who had gathered outside of the hospital several of them waving Trump flags.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2020
Video of Trump’s motorcade driving around quickly drew outrage.
The White House later shared that after driving past supporters in the motorcade Trump returned to Walter Reed’s presidential suite.
On Thursday, Trump tested positive for COVID-19, and on Friday was flown to Walter Reed after he spiked a fever, and his oxygen levels rapidly dropped.
But on top of this, the Secret Service are furious about Trump’s motorcade fiasco.
Several Secret Service agents have spoken out to express their anger over Donald Trump’s motorcade ride outside of Walter Reed Medical Center on Sunday evening.
The agents have publicly accused Trump of putting his protective detail in unnecessary danger.
“He’s not even pretending to care now,” an agent who requested anonymity told the Washington Post.
“That should never have happened,” another agent, who works in both the presidential and first family detail stated. “The frustration with how we’re treated when it comes to decisions on this illness goes back before this though. We’re not disposable.”
Agents can decline any request that they believe will put the president at risk but are not allowed to speak out about risks to themselves even if the risk is unnecessary.
The White House has responded and defended the brief motorcade trip outside of the medical center as safe.
