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The Walter Reed doctor who lost his ER job after condemning Trump's COVID-19 hospital joyride says he regrets nothing

Dec 30, 2020, 01:30 IST
Business Insider
President Donald Trump waves to supporters in the presidential motorcade in front of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 4, 2020.REUTERS/Cheriss May TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
  • The doctor who slammed President Donald Trump for greeting supporters from inside a sealed car while he had COVID-19 in October said he regretted nothing.
  • A report earlier this month said Dr. James Phillips had been abruptly removed from the schedule at Walter Reed, the medical facility where Trump was treated for the disease.
  • "Today, I worked my final shift at Walter Reed ER," Phillips tweeted on Sunday, adding, "I stand by my words, and I regret nothing."
  • Officials at Walter Reed told CBS News in early December that they were not responsible for removing Phillips from the schedule. Phillips' contractor said he was still employed by the group.
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The doctor who criticized President Donald Trump for greeting supporters from inside a sealed car while he had COVID-19 - and who was abruptly removed from the hospital's schedule - said he regretted nothing.

Dr. James Phillips, an emergency-room doctor, tweeted on Sunday that he had worked his last shift at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Trump was treated for COVID-19 in October.

"Today, I worked my final shift at Walter Reed ER," Phillips said. "I will miss the patients and my military and civilian coworkers - they have been overwhelmingly supportive. I'm honored to have worked there and I look forward to new opportunities. I stand by my words, and I regret nothing."

In October, Phillips said Trump's decision endangered the lives of the Secret Service agents in the car.

In a now-deleted tweet, he wrote: "Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential 'drive-by' just now has to be quarantined for 14 days. They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity."

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In a subsequent tweet, which was also deleted, he said the president's "irresponsibility is astounding."

CBS News reported in early December that Phillips had been removed from Walter Reed's schedule starting in January.

Hospital officials told CBS News that they were not responsible for removing him from the schedule and suggested his contractor was.

A representative for Phillips' contractor, GW Medical Faculty Associates, told CBS News that it would not comment on scheduling matters but that he was still employed by the group.

Trump was admitted to Walter Reed on October 2 after his blood-oxygen levels dropped following his COVID-19 diagnosis. He was discharged on October 5.

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Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, insisted at the time that Trump's ride outside the hospital was "cleared by the medical team as safe" and that appropriate safety measures were taken, according to The Guardian.

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