President Trump tested negative for the novel coronavirus while headed to Nashville, Tenn., for Thursday evening’s final presidential debate, according to the White House.
Upon arriving in Nashville, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters that Trump was tested for COVID-19 aboard Air Force One and that the test came back negative.
Trump, who was diagnosed with coronavirus at the beginning of October and returned to the campaign trail last week, has boasted about being “immune” to the virus following his recovery.
The Commission on Presidential Debates required that the candidates be tested for COVID-19 before Thursday’s debate. Democratic nominee Joe Biden tested negative for the virus Thursday morning, his campaign said.
In addition to being a dominant issue of the election, the pandemic has forced debate organizers to make adjustments to the meetings in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The debate will be held at Belmont University before a limited audience.
Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 less than 72 hours after the first presidential debate in Cleveland. He received cutting-edge treatments over a three-day stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and was cleared to resume public events less than 10 days after his diagnosis.
Trump could not say definitively whether he was tested on the day of the first debate under questioning at an NBC News town hall, despite the rules put in place by the commission.