Trump says he's 'tested positively toward negative' in rambling answer about whether he has coronavirus

President utters one of his most convoluted sentences yet as he heads to Michigan amid feud over mail-in voting and federal emergency aid

Donald Trump left the White House for Michigan on Thursday afternoon feeling "positively," telling reporters in one of his most convoluted statements yet that he had "tested positively toward negative" for coronavirus.

Here is the president, in his own words: "I tested very positively in another sense. I tested positively toward negative. I tested perfectly this morning, meaning I tested negative."

Mr Trump made the confusing remark as he departed the White House for a Ford facility in Michigan that has been converted to build ventilators and personal protective equipment to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

It was the latest in a series of announcements and comments that have brought stiff backlash.

The president earlier this week announced he has been taking hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug several of his own public health agencies say is ineffective against Covid-19 and failed to lower the death rate among infected patients in one study.

He has both called the United States the "king of testing," while also saying testing for the virus "might be overrated" because it leads to a higher number of confirmed cases – and deaths.

And he is in a potential legal battle with Michigan – this time over whether he will wear a mask at the Ford plant.

"Well, I don't know. We're going to look at it," he said leaving the White House. "I want to get our country back to normal."

But the state's Democratic attorney general, Dan Nessel, urged the president to wear a protective face covering.

"While my Department will not act to prevent you from touring Ford's plant, I ask that while you are on tour you respect the great efforts of the men and women at Ford – and across this state – by wearing a facial covering. It is not just the policy of Ford, by virtue of the Governor's Executive Orders. It is currently the law of this State."

"We must all do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19," Nessel added. "Anyone who has potentially been recently exposed, including the President of the United States, has not only a legal responsibility, but also a social and moral responsibility, to take reasonable precautions to prevent further spread of the virus."