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Published 08:06 IST, October 16th 2020

Trump evasive about when he tested negative

President Donald Trump was evasive when asked whether he took a coronavirus test on the day of the first debate, like he was supposed to.

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President Donald Trump was evasive when asked whether he took a coronavirus test on the day of the first debate, like he was supposed to.

Trump's comments came in the opening moments of Thursday night's town hall-style meeting on NBC. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, was appearing at a similar event at the same time on another network.

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Trump was seated on stage, not wearing a mask, on a set with several voters spaced several feet apart, all of them wearing masks.

Pressed many times, he finally said he "probably" took a test the day of the opening debate last week, but he doesn't remember. The Commission on Presidential Debates asked the two candidates to take tests before they arrived, but it was on the honor system.

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He tested positive for the coronavirus two days after the first debate.

Trump also says he has "nothing, whatsoever" remaining of symptoms from his coronavirus infection. But he acknowledged that doctors determined that his lungs were "a little bit infected" when he was hospitalized.

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Trump says, without evidence, that people who wear face masks are getting infected with the coronavirus "all the time."

Trump made the claim Thursday under questioning during an NBC News town hall event in Miami.

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The president was asked about a large White House gathering Sept. 26 that is believed to be a source of coronavirus infections in many people who attended, including the president and first lady Melania Trump. Most guests didn't wear masks.

Trump says he's "good with masks" before claiming that "people with masks are catching it all the time." Trump rarely wears a mask himself.

 

08:06 IST, October 16th 2020