Biden inquired about calling Trump after coronavirus diagnosis

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Monday that he considered reaching out to President Trump after he tested positive for the coronavirus last week but was advised it would be “intrusive.” 

“I inquired whether I should do that,” Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt at a televised town hall in Miami. “The decision was that would probably be intrusive.”

Biden’s comments came just after Trump’s release from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday following a roughly 72-hour stay. Earlier Monday, White House physician Sean Conley said Trump was not “out of the woods” and that his symptoms could deteriorate as the illness progresses but met the criteria for discharge. 

The former vice president said he was glad Trump’s condition appears to be improving. He did not criticize the decision for Trump to be released from the hospital after a three-day stay. 

“I’m not going to second-guess his doctors,” Biden said when asked about Trump’s health. “He has some of the best health care in the world.”

Biden did hit the Trump campaign for not wearing masks during last week’s first presidential debate, saying it was “disconcerting” to see a lack of face coverings on Trump’s side of the debate hall. 

Biden, however, said he was not concerned about the risk of having caught the virus at the debate. 

“I’ve been fastidious about the social distancing. I’ve been fastidious about wearing the mask,” he said. 

Biden and his campaign have long taken a cautious approach to campaigning amid the pandemic, posing a stark contrast to Trump.

The president received widespread criticism on Monday after he returned from the hospital and removed his mask upon arrival at the White House.

“Anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying masks don’t matter, social distance doesn’t matter, are responsible for what happens to them,” Biden said at the town hall.