White House Denies Kudlow Claim That Trump Worked in Oval Office While Infected

The White House is walking back comments from economic adviser Larry Kudlow — who said that President Donald Trump worked out of the Oval Office on Tuesday, five days after testing positive for the coronavirus.

In an interview on CNBC Wednesday, Kudlow stated that the president returned to his regular working quarters just one day after being released from the hospital.

“The president actually showed up in the oval office yesterday with extra precautions, with respect to his Covid-19 and he’s getting a lot better,” Kudlow said.

Moments earlier, speaking with reporters outside the White House, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that Trump “wanted” to work from the Oval, but gave no indication that he actually did.

Indeed, the White House is standing by the comments from Meadows. White House spokesperson Ben Williamson tweeted that Trump remained in the residence.

“While the President wanted to be in the Oval Office yesterday, he was not there—he stayed back in the residence working from there,” Willamson wrote. “Safety preparations have been underway in the event he moves to working out of the Oval in the coming days.”

While the President wanted to be in the Oval Office yesterday, he was not there—he stayed back in the residence working from there. Safety preparations have been underway in the event he moves to working out of the Oval in the coming days.

— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) October 7, 2020

Meadows added that Kudlow “misspoke.”

Yet Kudlow commented in detail about Oval Office protocol.

“Everyone else who comes into contact in the Oval — the traffic is limited, as you might expect — but there are additional precautions, additional measures that have been taken much greater than simply masking,” he said.

Watch above, via CNBC.