US first lady cancels campaign rally over coughing

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - US first lady Melania Trump canceled her first campaign rally Tuesday because of coughing after a COVID-19 diagnosis, according to an aide.

"Mrs. Trump continues to feel better every day following her recovery from COVID-19, but with a lingering cough, and out of an abundance of caution, she will not be traveling today," her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement.

The statement came hours before US President Donald Trump and the first lady were scheduled to attend a "Make America Great Again!" rally in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The first lady's last appearance was Sept. 29 at the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.

Earlier this month, the president said he tested positive for the virus along with his wife shortly after Hope Hicks, one of his aides, tested positive.

The president was admitted Oct. 2 to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

Barron Trump, the president's youngest son, tested positive for the disease last week, which has infected nearly 8.2 million people and killed more than 220,000 in the US.