President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 moments before he was due on stage in Las Vegas.
The news was announced by Janet Murguía, the leader of civil rights group Unidos, as Biden was due to give a campaign speech.
The announcement was met with audible gasps from the crowd.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Biden’s symptoms are mild, however, he will fly back home to Delaware, where he will “self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.”
The under-fire president began experiencing symptoms this afternoon, including a cough and runny nose. He does not have a fever.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, said in a note that Biden “presented this afternoon with upper respiratory symptoms, to include rhinorrhea (runny nose) and non-productive cough, with general malaise.”
Biden was prescribed the antiviral drug Paxlovid and has taken his first dose, O’Connor added.
Before testing positive, Biden was at the Original Lindo Michoacan restaurant in Las Vegas, where he was greeting diners ahead of a scheduled interview with Univision.
Instead, he sat down with NBC Nightly News’ Lester Holt on Monday evening, where Biden revealed the conversation he had with Trump after the shooting.
He also addressed concerns about his health and age, where he doubled-down on staying in the presidential race despite calls to drop out. Biden said earlier on Wednesday that he would only consider ending his campaign because of a “medical condition.”
Yesterday, Biden gave another speech in Las Vegas at the NAACP conference, where he clapbacked at Trump for his odd and controversial talk about “black jobs” at the first televised debate as well as highlighted the diversity of his administration.
Biden was also ill the night of the disastrous CNN debate last month.