Biden cancels speech in Vegas citing COVID diagnosis
President Joe Biden’s planned remarks at the UnidosUS Annual Conference in Las Vegas were shelved on Wednesday, after testing positive for COVID.
The president of the Latino advocacy group announced his status to attendees who had waited a significant amount of time for the president to deliver his speech.
“Regrettably, I was just on the phone with President Biden and he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon. The president has been at many events, as we all know, and he just tested positive for COVID,” UnidosUS President Janet Murguía told the crowd.
here's the moment news of Biden's positive covid test was announced at the UnidosUS conference in Las Vegas, where people were assembled waiting for his speech that was supposed to start 90 minutes ago pic.twitter.com/OPOl14QE6b
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 17, 2024
The event proceeded without the president.
“We appreciate very much his wanting to be here,” Murguía said. “I had a great introduction for him, reminding us of all the actions that he’s taken on behalf of our community.”
The president's hyperactive campaigning streak will likely be slowed by the diagnosis, although he's said to only be experiencing "mild symptoms" as of now.
Biden, who has attended more than two dozen campaign events and sat for multiple interviews since his debate performance last month, visited a Las Vegas restaurant just hours ahead of the test result, per local station 3 News.
The 81-year-old, who beat his mild July 2022 bout of COVID, sat for an interview with Univision before the event, according to the Associated Press.
"I tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon, but I am feeling good and thank everyone for the well wishes," Biden wrote in a statement to X. "I will be isolating as I recover, and during this time I will continue to work to get the job done for the American people."
