Trump says he feels great, looking to debate Joe Biden next week

[WASHINGTON] President Donald Trump said he feels "great" and is looking forward to debating Joe Biden next week. He's also considering a televised address to the nation. Mr Trump again likened the disease to the less dangerous seasonal flu, urging Americans to learn to live with Covid-19 while overstating the number of annual flu deaths.

Mr Trump returned to the White House Monday evening after a four-day stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment for Covid-19. Aides hope to keep him at the presidential residence and away from the Oval Office but are uncertain how long that will last, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr Trump is also considering a televised address to the country after returning Monday from a three-day stay in the hospital for treatment of Covid-19, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The president and his campaign have sought to cast his return as a triumphant presidential moment just weeks before Election Day, even as recent polls show him falling badly behind his challenger Joe Biden.

Mr Trump resumed his tweets Tuesday morning with a comparison between the novel coronavirus and the regular influenza outbreaks that typically start hitting the northern hemisphere in the fall.

After telling Americans not to fear the virus or let it "dominate" them, Mr Trump noted that the nation doesn't shut down because of the flu.

The US hasn't lost 100,000 people to the flu in a single season in more than a decade, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Comparisons between deaths caused by coronavirus and the flu aren't simple because of differences in the way they're counted, but there is broad agreement among epidemiologists that the coronavirus is substantially more dangerous.

The president is running even further behind Democratic challenger Joe Biden in a new poll before the Nov 3 election. Leaders have sometimes seen bumps in approval when they fall ill, as happened with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he contracted the virus earlier this year.

Mr Trump's deficit to Mr Biden has widened to 16 points, a CNN poll released Tuesday showed, with 57 per cent of likely voters backing Mr Biden and 41 per cent supporting the incumbent. The poll was conducted after the first debate and mostly after Mr Trump's coronavirus infection became public.

One key group backing Mr Biden in the poll was people over the age of 65, 60 per cent of whom supported him, compared to 39 per cent who backed Mr Trump. Older voters were a key part of Mr Trump's coalition in 2016, with 53 per cent picking him according to a Pew post-election survey.

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