President Joe Biden has tested positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19, according to numerous media reports.
The diagnosis, first reported by Reuters, was revealed by organizers of an event in Las Vegas where Biden was due to give a speech early Wednesday evening. A spokesperson for the White House later confirmed that Biden was experiencing “mild symptoms.”
The positive test comes two days after Biden gave a sit-down interview with Lester Holt of NBC News, where he said it was a “mistake” to call for a “bull’s eye” on his rival, former President Donald Trump, in light of the assassination attempt against Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania last weekend.
It was not clear if Biden experienced symptoms associated with COVID-19 before or immediately after the interview, nor was it known if Biden or anyone at NBC had been screened for the virus. Mark Stone, the U.S. correspondent for Sky News, said he noticed Biden was coughing “on Monday when he did an interview with NBC News with Lester Holt…he appeared to cough quite a lot during that interview.” Sky News and NBC News are both owned by Comcast.
“For an 81-year-old man to get COVID, it can become more serious,” Stone said during a live broadcast on Sky News late Wednesday evening. “It can certainly knock them, no question about that.”
The NBC interview came at a time when some leading Democrats have urged Biden to step aside over concerns about his mental fitness following his lackluster performance at a presidential debate organized by CNN last month, during which he seemed lethargic and unable to coherently answer certain questions.
