President in Bethesda receiving treatment for COVID-19
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Trump supporters gather outside Walter Reed on Saturday morning.
Photos courtesy David Terao
Crowds remained peaceful outside of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after President Donald Trump arrived Friday evening for treatment of COVID-19, according to police.
Trump, 74, was flown to the Bethesda hospital after announcing via Twitter early Friday morning that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the virus.
As news spread of his arrival, protesters and supporters gathered outside the hospital, along Rockville Pike, according to Capt. Sean Gagen, the Montgomery County Police Department’s Second District commander. The crowd was small, Gagen said, and remained on site until around 3 a.m.
There were no altercations that Gagen was aware of, as of 9:45 a.m. Saturday.
“Fortunately, everything right now is under control over there, and we’re hopeful it’s going to stay that way,” Gagen said.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, about 10 Trump well wishers stood outside a gate at the hospital, many holding signs. One small sign read “GET WELL,” and had a small cut out of the president and a stuffed panda bear on top of it.
Trump’s medical team, speaking outside Walter Reed on Saturday, said they are “extremely happy” with Trump’s condition and that the president’s health is improving.
Across Rockville Pike, a large group of mostly television journalists gathered, with cameras trained on the hospital.
Montgomery County police will continue to patrol around the perimeter of Walter Reed, as it is the county’s jurisdiction, Gagen said. The number of officers on scene will fluctuate depending on crowd size and if there are any problems.
“We’ll remain flexible,” Gagen said. “If nobody’s out there, we’ll maintain a curb posture, where we basically have somebody there so we can be a liaison between agencies. If people start to show up throughout the day and weekend, we can adjust.”
A Bethesda business had a light-hearted message for the reporters at Walter Reed.
Fortuna’s, a shoe repair store in Woodmont Triangle, tweeted: “To all the reporters gathering at Walter Reed to report on this historic moment, remember this. Just down the street is the best shoe and leather repair shop in the country, if not the world. Fortuna’s Shoe Repair, since 1942, our work is craftsmanship. http://fortunas.com.”
As of Saturday morning, the tweet had received 12,000 likes and 1,600 retweets.
Bethesda Beat Editor and Publisher Steve Hull contributed to this story.
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