Trump praises experimental coronavirus antibody treatment; plans busy week ahead

President Trump praised an experimental antibody cocktail he was given after catching the coronavirus — using a radio rally Friday to announce he’s “cured” in a whirlwind day that included the second presidential debate being called off.

“I was not in great shape … and I feel better now than I did two weeks ago,” Trump said shortly after noon on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show Friday. “We have a cure, it’s more than just a therapeutic.”

The president said Regeneron’s antibody cocktail REGN-COV2 “wiped out the virus” and put him back on the path to recovery.

As the Herald reported last week, the Tarrytown, N.Y., biotech company said results of a double-blind trial showed the antibody treatment “reduced viral load and the time to alleviate symptoms in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19.”

That cocktail, Trump’s doctor Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley said in a memo, was given to the president before he left the White House for nearby Walter Reed hospital. Trump was also given remdesivir.

Trump told Limbaugh it was “the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen. … It wiped out the virus.” Trump added “11 doctors” who saw him at the White House Friday said he’s recovered.

Trump is set to hold a big White House event Saturday — where he is expected to address guests from the balcony — and then head to a rally in Florida on Monday.

The president is also eyeing another rally in Pennsylvania this coming week, the New York Post is reporting.

Also Friday night, the Commission on Presidential Debates canceled the second presidential debate, set for Oct. 15, leaving just one more showdown on the schedule between Trump and Democratic rival Job Biden. That is set for Oct. 22 in Nashville.

The moderator for the now-scrapped second debate, C-SPAN’s Steve Scully, landed in the news Friday, too. C-SPAN said Scully’s Twitter account was hacked after a tweet was sent to onetime White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci asking how to handle Trump.

Scaramucci advised Scully to “ignore” the president because “some more bad stuff (sic) about to go down.” Scaramucci later accepted the explanation that the tweet was an alleged hack.

The Biden camp, meanwhile, blamed Trump for the demise of the second debate.

“It’s shameful that Donald Trump ducked the only debate in which the voters get to ask the questions — but it’s no surprise,” Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said Friday. “Everyone knows that Donald Trump likes to bully reporters, but obviously he doesn’t have the guts to answer for his record to voters at the same time as Vice President Biden.”

Friday kicked off with Trump taking questions on Limbaugh’s show for about two hours beginning at noon.

Trump said at one point that potential coronavirus vaccines — including Moderna’s — “are coming along great.”

As the Herald reported, Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine trial, which is underway at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is going “extremely well,” according to the principal investigator, and there is still time for more participants to join. It also broke Thursday night that Trump has been given the all-clear to go back to work.

GOPUSA Editor’s Note: Trump was also interviewed on Friday by Dr. Marc Siegel and here is the interesting interview which was part of the Tucker Carlson show.