Seventy two hours after being diagnosed with COVID-19, US President Donald Trump returned to the White House from his three-day stay at the Walter Reed military hospital in Washington. In a dramatic video, he got off a Marine one helicopter and walked up to the White House waving, and then he pulled off his mask and put it in his pocket to strike a thumbs-up pose for the photographers.

Why do these little details matter? Even as Trump has been consistently criticised for his cavalier attitude towards the COVID crisis, taking off the mask was nothing short of a symbolic act of defiance keeping with how he's has been downplaying the pandemic in his campaigns so far.

Since the very beginning of the outbreak he had been trivialising the use of a mask, going as far as avoiding it altogether for press briefings or rallies and even telling his supporters that they're free to wear it but it's his choice to not.

After his discharge, Trump wrote on Twitter, “Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.” Even so, questions remain on his health and his recovery.

Although there are only scraps of information available from the White House medical team about his oxygen levels and his steroid drug treatment — is Trump's COVID-19 infection more serious than is being represented?

At a time when US recorded more than 7.4 million cases of COVID-19 and 210, 000 deaths, what message is Trump sending to his supporters at this crucial time before election? And most importantly, how can this new development impact the US elections? Tune in to The Big Story!

Producer and Host: Shorbori Purkayastha Guests: Dr Aviral Roy, Critical Care Specialist of COVID ward at Kolkata's Medica Super-specialty Hospital Andrew Claster,Deputy Chief Analytics Officer for Ex President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign

Editor: Shelly Walia

Music: Big Bang Fuzz

Listen to The Big Story podcast on:

Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl

Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C

Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ

Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices