President Biden tests positive for COVID-19

President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to cancel campaign appearances.

Biden was scheduled to speak Wednesday afternoon at the UnidosUS Annual Conference in Las Vegas, but he canceled that after the diagnosis.

“Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19,” said a statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms. He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. The White House will provide regular updates on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.”

She posted this note from his doctor: “The President presented this afternoon with upper respiratory symptoms, to include rhinorhea (runny nose) and non-productive cough, with general malaise. He felt okay for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point of care testing for COVID-19 was conducted, and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus. Given this, the President will be self-isolating in accordance with CDC guidance for symptomatic individuals. PCR confirmation testing will be pending. His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97%. The President has received his first dose of Paxlovid. He will be self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth.”

The note did not name the doctor, but Kevin O’Connor is Biden’s personal physician.

Biden was set to speak at 4:30 p.m. at the UnidosUS conference. About 6 p.m., when the president had not shown up, UnidosUS President Janet Murguia told attendees, “Regrettably, I was just on the phone with President Biden, and he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon,” according to CNBC. “The president has been at many events, as we all know, and he just tested positive for COVID.”

“He said to tell my folks that we’re not going to get rid of him that quickly,” she added. “He’s just really sorry he couldn’t be with us.”

Biden addressed the NAACP’s national convention in Las Vegas Tuesday. In that speech, he said that shifting the tone of political debate in the wake of Saturday’s assassination attempt on Donald Trump doesn’t mean he’ll stop calling out the Republican nominees lies and bigotry.

“Just because we must lower the temperature in our politics … doesn’t mean we should stop telling the truth,” Biden said, according to The Washington Post.“Who you are, what you’ve done, what you’ll do — that’s fair game. As Harry Truman said, I’ve never given anyone hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.”

Some Democrats have urged Biden to drop out of the race, saying another candidate would have a better chance of beating Trump. U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who is one of the party’s highest-profile congressmen, said Wednesday that Biden should withdraw.

Biden “has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history, and his lifetime of service as a Senator, a Vice President, and now as President has made our country better,” Schiff said in a statement first reported by the Los Angeles Times.“But our nation is at a crossroads,” he said. “A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November."

Schiff is now running for the California U.S. Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein until her death last year. Laphonza Butler, a Black lesbian with long activist appearance, was appointed to fill out the remainder of Feinstein's term but decided not to run for a full term.

Biden has said he’s in the race to stay. In an interview with BET this week, he said he would drop out only if a doctor advised him to due to a medical condition.