President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID for a third time and will step away from the campaign trail, his press secretary confirmed Wednesday.
Biden tested positive after attending an event in Las Vegas and will return to his home in Delaware to isolate, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. She said Biden is vaccinated, boosted, and has taken his first dose of Paxlovid. Despite experiencing mild symptoms, he will continue to carry out his presidential duties from his Rehoboth Beach residence.
The positive test comes as Biden, 81, is facing pressure to exit the 2024 presidential race − and on the same day he said in an interview that only a “medical condition” would lead him to mull dropping out.
“I’m sick,” Biden posted to X, formerly Twitter, before adding in a reply, “of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election.”
Biden included a link to donate to his reelection campaign in the follow-up post, appearing to make light of his positive test. It marks the third time Biden has caught COVID since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
The president first caught the virus in July 2022 after he had already received the vaccine and two boosters. He took Paxlovid, self-isolated, and continued to work in the White House.
“I’m feeling much better than I sound,” Biden said in a raspy voice during a video meeting broadcast by the White House during his first case.
After emerging from a five-day isolation period, Biden tested positive for COVID a second time. Biden said he experienced no symptoms during the rebound case, but he returned to isolation again until he tested negative.
“This happens with a small minority of folks. I’ve got no symptoms but I am going to isolate for the safety of everyone around me. I’m still at work, and will be back on the road soon,” Biden said in a social media post at the time.
