Biden tests positive for COVID. It comes at an awkward time in his campaign
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President Biden tested positive for COVID on Wednesday while campaigning in Las Vegas, the White House said in a statement.
The news comes at a time in his campaign when many Democrats have raised questions about whether Biden, 81, still has what it takes to run for a second term.
A number of high-profile Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff of California on Wednesday, have called on him to withdraw from the race following a debate against former President Donald Trump where Biden badly stumbled.
Biden has insisted he is staying in the race, and has been vigorously campaigning since the June 27 debate.
On Tuesday, he spoke to the annual convention of the NAACP in Las Vegas, sat for an interview with BET News, and did another campaign event focused on issues for Black Americans.
Then on Wednesday, Biden did an interview with Univision Radio at a local restaurant. Biden’s doctor said in the statement that the president had “felt okay” for that event, despite cold symptoms.
Afterward, he tested positive for COVID with a rapid test, the White House said. His symptoms are mild, but he will return to Delaware to self-isolate.
Biden is taking Paxlovid, the White House said. He is expected to continue to carry out his duties while he is isolating.
Biden had been slated to give an address to UnidosUS. Janet Murguia, the president of the group, broke the news of Biden's diagnonis, telling the conference that she had just spoken to the president on the phone, and he had told her directly.
This is the president's second bout with the virus. He first got COVID on July 21, 2022, and experienced mild symptoms. He was treated with the Paxlovid antiviral, then experienced a rebound case of the virus on July 30 of that year.
Biden's advanced age has been a focus this year because voters have said they are concerned he is too old for the job.
Last fall, Biden's physician said in a memo that the president had received an updated COVID vaccine and a flu shot. Several weeks earlier, Biden was vaccinated for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can be dangerous for seniors.
Transcript
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
President Biden has been diagnosed with COVID. He was campaigning in Las Vegas today. And the White House said he took a test because he had some cold symptoms. He has taken his first dose of PAXLOVID. Now he's on Air Force One returning to Delaware. But this comes at an awkward time for Biden because of questions he is facing from his party about his ability to run for a second term. NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram is covering this. Hi, Deepa.
DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: Biden's doctor has some notes that the White House passed along. What did he say?
SHIVARAM: Yeah, the president's doctor said that Biden is experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms, and that includes a runny nose and a cough. His doctor says Biden felt OK for the first event of the day, which was a visit to a Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas and a sit-down interview. But since he wasn't feeling any better after that, he took a COVID test, and the results were positive. The doctor says the PCR results of the test are pending. He said Biden has taken his first dose of PAXLOVID. His symptoms remain mild, and he has a normal respiratory rate and temperature.
SHAPIRO: Where was he when all of this came to light?
SHIVARAM: Right. So Biden has been campaigning in Las Vegas for the last few days. Yesterday, he was speaking to a huge crowd at the NAACP convention and campaigning with the Congressional Black Caucus. He was rolling out plans on capping rent costs and continuing to talk about former President Trump's agenda. And this was all supposed to be counterprogramming for the Republican National Convention that's taking place this week. And then today, Biden sat down for an interview with Univision, visited that Mexican restaurant. He was just about to go to the Unidos conference - that's a Hispanic civil rights organization - but he was really delayed. And then the president of Unidos, Janet Murguia, came out on stage.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JANET MURGUIA: The president has been at many events, as we all know, and he just tested positive for COVID.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Aw.
MURGUIA: So of course, we understand that he needs to take the precautions that have been recommended, and he did not obviously want to put anybody at risk.
SHIVARAM: So pretty strong reaction there. Reporters traveling with Biden said that the president gave them a thumbs up as he was getting back onto Air Force One to leave Las Vegas, and Biden said he felt good.
SHAPIRO: It's striking to hear that audible reaction from the crowd. So what's he going to do now?
SHIVARAM: Yeah. Well, now he's on his way to his house in Rehoboth Beach, Del., which that has always been the plan. But now obviously, he will be there to self-isolate and continuing, you know, just to carry out his duties, according to the White House.
SHAPIRO: And this isn't the first time he's gotten COVID, right?
SHIVARAM: Right. He had COVID in 2022. And at that time, his symptoms were also mild. The president is vaccinated. He's gotten his booster shots, and I will point out, generally speaking, COVID cases have been back on the rise in the U.S. in recent weeks. This bout of COVID, though, comes not long after Biden also just had a cold. And that was part of the campaign's explanation for why he had such a terrible performance on the debate stage a few weeks ago. They said because of the cold and because he had been traveling a lot, that's why he had a, quote, "bad night."
SHAPIRO: There have been so many questions about that night. What is the latest on the fallout from that debate?
SHIVARAM: Yeah, the aftermath of the debate has brought up a ton of questions - right? - and concerns from democratic lawmakers and donors and voters who are worried about the president's age, his health, his fitness for office. And just today, California Congressman Adam Schiff, who's also running for Senate, said he thinks Biden should not run again. But the president has insisted he's staying in the race over and over again, even last night. He did an interview with BET News, and he said the only thing that could get him to end his candidacy is a serious health condition of some sort. In the last few weeks, he's been trying to show repeatedly that he's got the energy to run for office. He's been doing multiple interviews, public events, but that hasn't really stopped the questions about whether Biden should still be the nominee. So Biden being sick once more is kind of highlighting these concerns and all the uncertainty.
SHAPIRO: That's NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram. Thank you.
SHIVARAM: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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