Trump returned to the White House. Do you know what he did next?

Agencies

US President Donald Trump, who returned to White House clearing speculation that he is critically ill, soon landed in fresh trouble by removing his mask.

Trump after reaching White House, in a made-for-television spectacle, removed his mask and urged Americans not to fear the COVID-19 disease that has killed more than 209,000 people in the country and put him in hospital.

"Don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it," Trump said in a video after his return from the Walter Reed Medical Center military hospital outside Washington where he was treated for the disease caused by the coronavirus.

"I'm better, and maybe I'm immune - I don't know," he added, flanked by American flags and with the Washington Monument in the background. "Get out there. Be careful."

The Republican president, running for re-election against Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election, was admitted to hospital on Friday after being diagnosed with the disease.

"I was aghast when he said COVID should not be feared," William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, told Reuters.

"This is a disease that is killing around a thousand people a day, has torpedoed the economy, put people out of work. This is a virus that should be both respected and feared," he added.

Democrats also weighed in. "This is a tragic failure of leadership," Democratic Senator Chris Coons tweeted.

"If the President bounces back onto the campaign trail, he will be an invincible hero, who not only survived every dirty trick the Democrats threw at him but the Chinese virus as well," he wrote on Twitter.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said every precaution was being taken to protect the president and his family. Physical access to Trump would be limited and appropriate protective equipment would be worn by those near him.