- First lady Melania Trump is dealing with a lingering cough after her coronavirus diagnosis and will not attend a campaign event with President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
- Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s chief of staff, said that “out of an abundance of caution, she will not be traveling today.”
- The first lady has not been seen in public since the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 29.
- On October 2, the president announced that he and Melania Trump had tested positive for coronavirus.
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First lady Melania Trump is dealing with a lingering cough after her coronavirus diagnosis earlier this month and will not make a Tuesday campaign appearance with President Donald Trump, according to Stephanie Grisham, her chief of staff.
Grisham said that the first lady will not travel with the president to an event in Erie, Pennsylvania, to exercise some vigilance. However, Grisham also said that Trump’s condition has improved since she tested positive on October 2.
“Mrs. Trump continues to feel better every day following her recovery from COVID-19, but with a lingering cough, and out of an abundance of caution, she will not be traveling today,” Grisham said.
On October 14, the first lady released an essay on the White House website, detailing her battle with COVID-19.
“I was very fortunate as my diagnosis came with minimal symptoms, though they hit me all at once and it seemed to be a roller coaster of symptoms in the days after,” Trump wrote. “I experienced body aches, a cough and headaches, and felt extremely tired most of the time. I chose to go a more natural route in terms of medicine, opting more for vitamins and healthy food.”
She added: "It was an unfamiliar feeling for me to be the patient instead of a person trying to encourage our nation to stay healthy and safe. It was me being taken care of now, and getting first-hand experience with all that COVID-19 can do."
While the first lady was able to recover in the White House after her diagnosis, the president's condition was more serious, requiring hospitalization at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
In the essay, the first lady also announced that their son Barron had contracted the coronavirus, but was asymptomatic.
"Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms," she wrote. "In one way I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together. He has since tested negative."
Trump was last seen in public at the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 29, just days before her diagnosis.