U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to reporters as he walks from Marine One with first lady Melania Trump to board Air Force One as they depart Washington on campaign travel to Nashville, Tennessee to attend his second and final debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., October 22, 2020.
Tom Brenner | Reuters
President Donald Trump tested negative for the coronavirus ahead of his final debate with former Vice President Joe Biden, the White House said Thursday.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Trump was tested for Covid-19 on Air Force One as he traveled to the debate hall in Nashville, where he will face off against Biden for the second and final time before Election Day.
Chief of staff Mark Meadows also told reporters that Trump tested negative.
The debate is set to kick off at 9 p.m. ET. It will be moderated by NBC News’ Kristen Welker.
Trump and Biden had first participated in a messy, rancorous brawl of a debate in late September. Days after that event, Trump announced that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19.
Trump and the White House have faced persistent questions about when the president had last tested negative before discovering he had contracted the virus.
In an interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie last week, Trump said he wasn’t sure if he had been tested on the day of his first debate with Biden. “Possibly I did, possibly I didn’t,” Trump said.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
