The US president says he has experienced "an outpouring of love" from around the world but the next few days will be critical as he battles Covid-19.
Donald Trump, speaking from teh Walter Reed Medical Centre, says he could have isolated himself in the White House but it was better to be "out front". Photo: Twitter / screenshot
In a four-minute video posted to Twitter today, Donald Trump, sitting in what appears to be an office at the Walter Reed Medical Centre in Maryland, has particularly addressed a message to the American people.
Earlier today Trump's doctors spoke to media for the first time and said they were pleased with his progress.
However, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows also spoke to journalists saying there had been a lot of concern about Trump's health in the last 24 hours. The New York Times also reported that he was given oxygen at the White House to help him breathe.
Trump was flown by Marine One to the hospital yesterday after he and his wife, Melania, were diagnosed with the virus the previous day.
He said he was thankful for all the support within the US, which he described as a "bipartisan consensus" of American people.
"It's a beautiful thing to see, I very much appreciate it and I won't forget it, I promise you that."
Trump said he had been given the opportunity to isolate himself in the White House but he couldn't do that.
"I had to be out front ...This is the United States, ... the most powerful country in the world. I can't be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe and just say whatever happens, happens.
"...As a leader you have to confront problems. There's never been a great leader who would have done that."
Donald Trump leaves the White House on Marine One. Photo: AFP
Still work to finish, president says
Trump said he was not feeling so well when he arrived at the hospital but he felt a lot better now.
"We're working hard to get me all the way back. I have to be back because we still have to make America great again.
"We've done an awfully good job of that but we still have steps to go and we have to finish that job.
"I'll be back. I think I'll be back soon and I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started and the way we've been doing ....we've been so proud of it."
He said coronavirus had affected millions of people worldwide and he was fighting on everyone's behalf.
Trump promised the coronavirus would be beaten, in part because of the therapeutics that he was already taking and some that were in the pipeline.
"We have things happening that look like miracles coming down from God."
He was grateful to the medical professionals at the Walter Reed Medical Centre who were the finest in the world, he said.
Trump also thanked leaders from around the world who had passed on their messages of support.
He said the First Lady, Melania, was doing well and was handling the virus "very nicely" and she was a "tiny bit" younger than him. Melania is actually 24 years younger than the president.
Donald Trump with wife, Melania. (file pic) Photo: Sarah Silbiger / Getty Images / AFP
"Melania is handling it statistically like it's supposed to be handled and that makes me very happy and it makes the country very happy.
"But I'm also doing well and I think we're going to have a very good result. Again, over the next few days we're going to probably know for sure."
He said he would not forget the "incredible outpouring of love" that has been shown from around the world, but most especially from Americans.
Enthusiasts show support
Supporters of Trump have gathered with placards and flowers outside the Walter Reed National Military Hospital near Washington where the president is being treated for coronavirus.
In New York, supporters gathered at a pro-Trump rally on Staten Island.
Elsewhere in the country, they took to their boats while in Columbus, Ohio, there was a parade of cars.
Supporters outside the hospital in Maryland. Photo: AFP
Other Trump loyalists took to the water in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Photo: AFP