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A friend running a GoFundMe campaign for his medical costs said that she suspected the attention paid to him was politically motivated.
Crede Bailey, head of the White House security office, caught COVID-19 in September but is now recovering.
Reports about Bailey's condition identified him as a passionate Trump supporter and linked his illness to the wider outbreaks in the White House.
In an update after the media attention, Dawn McCrobie wrote: "Maybe the stories are about something else and Crede's experience just plays into those stories."
A friend of Crede Bailey, the head of the White House security office who lost a foot and big toe due to COVID-19 complications, claimed that he is being exploited by the media because of his place of work.