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WASHINGTON President Donald Trump continues to improve in his battle against COVID-19 and could be discharged as early as Monday, a White House physiciansaid Sunday, as White Houseaides sought to paintan image of business as usual despite uncertainty over the severity of the president's condition.

Navy Commander and White House physicianSean Conleysaiddoctors gave Trump supplemental oxygenon Friday,something he previouslyrefused to discuss,after the presidenthad a "high fever" and his oxygen levels dipped below 94%. Hesaid Trump experiencedanother drop in oxygen on Saturday, but did not discuss treatment.

"There are frequent ups and downs ... particularly when a patient is being so closely watched 24 hours a day," said Conley. "Ifhe continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House, where he can continue his treatment course."

Conley, seeking to clear up confusion from comments he madeSaturday, said Trump has "experienced two episodes of transient drops" inhis oxygen saturation, but that has been treated with medication.Conley was not specific about Trump's exact oxygen levelsand refused to say whether the president is in a negative pressure room, which hospitals sometimes use to helpprevent airborne diseases from escaping and infecting other people.

Dr. Sean Dooley, who is also treating the president, said Trump was given the steroid dexamethasone on Saturday following hisoxygen drop.The World Health Organization recommends that drug only for "severe and critical" cases. Dooley said the president will continue to receive the steriod"for the time being."

Thepresident alsocompleted his second dose of the antiviral drugremdesiviron Saturday and will continue his five-day course of remdesivir.

Asked why he evaded questions on Saturday about whether the president received supplemental oxygen, Conley said he was trying to reflect the "upbeat attitude of the president."

Dr. Sean Conley, physician to President Donald Trump, briefs reporters at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. Trump was admitted to the hospital after contracting the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)

"I was trying to reflectthe upbeat attitude that the team, thepresident, his course of illness has had," Conley said, adding that he "didn't want to giveany information that might steer the course of illness in another direction."

"Andin doing so, you know, came off (like) we'retrying to hide something, whichwasn't necessarilytrue," he added.

Throughout the weekend, the White House has sent mixed messages aboutTrump's condition as he wrestles with the virus that has killed more than 200,000 Americans.

"While not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic," Conley said in a memo late Saturday.

After Trump's physician and other doctors provided an update on Trump's health at a news conference Saturday, an administration official later identified by the Associated Press and the New York Times as chief of staff Mark Meadows met withreporters and described the president's condition earlier in the week as "very concerning."

Meadows said "the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care."

More: Anatomy of a White House response: Timeline of what officials said about Trump's COVID-19 battle

The differing messages drew criticism.

"During a crisis, public information must be complete, consistent, and accurate," said Jack Pitney,professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California. "The White House has failed on all three counts. Recklessness, worsened by incompetence."

At one point Saturday, Conley said that Trump's case was"72 hours" old, meaning he would have been sick on Wednesday, the day he hosted a fundraiserin New Jersey.Conley later amended that comment, saying Trump who was tested daily did not have a positive result until Thursday night. The president took that testafter her learned that top aide Hope Hicks had been infected.

Conley issued a memo hours later on Saturday clarifying he should have said "third day," that is Thursday night, Friday and into Saturday, rather than "72 hours."

Matthew G. Heinz, a hospital physician andinternist from Tucson, Ariz.,noted thatConley side-stepped questions "about any lung involvement revealed in CT scans or chest films" involving Trump.

Heinz said it's unusual to use Remdesivir and dexamethasone therapy in mild casesand that could mean the doctors see evidence of viral pneumonia in the president's scans.

"The American people deserve complete transparency about the health of our leader which are still being denied by Dr. Conley and his team," Heinz said. "Its beyond galling for him to express regret for withholding information yesterday and then to walk away from the microphone after refusing to provide a clear response about findings chest X-rays and CT scans."

The president and his supporters expressed optimism over his prospects Sundayand predicted a quick return to the campaign trail, as new polls shows him losing ground to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Trump may be on the disabled list right now, "but very, very shortly hes going to be back in the game throwing 95-mile-an-hourfastballs," Steve Cortes, a Trump campaign adviser, saidon Fox News Sunday.

Trump spent part of his day on social media.In the mid-afternoon, Trump tweeted a thank you to supporters who gathered outside the hospital: "The fact is, they really love our Country and are seeing how we are MAKING IT GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!"

Trump and aides have defended his decision to campaign and host large events in recent weeks, despite the pandemic.

Many people have gotten sick after those events, particularly a Sept. 26 event inthe White House Rose Gardenin which Trump announced his new Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Trump rarely wears masks; the same goes for many of his aides and supporters who attend his campaignrallies.

Seeking to reassure supporters, the White House use social media to convey the idea that Trump remains at work, even at Walter Reed Medical Center.

The White House sent out two pictures of Trump signing things Saturday one in which Trump is wearing a suit jacket and another in which he is not but the time stamps indicate the pictures were taken just ten minutes apart.

"Hes obviously not working, but MAGA will tell how hes working hard even when hes in the hospital," tweetedRobertKelly, professor of political science at Pusan University in South Korea. "Its all so predictable and insulting."

Trump also dictated a statement to his friend Rudy Giuliani, saying he felt fine and disputing negative news coverage of his condition.

I feel I could get out of here right now," Trump said, according to the statement Giuliani provided to The New York Post. "But theyre telling me there can always be a back-step with this disease. But I feel I could go out and do a rally."

More: Live updates on Trump and COVID-19: 'Feeling much better' in hospital video; Biden gets tested again today; brief acknowledgement on 'SNL'

More: President Trump has COVID-19: A timeline of his travels leading up to a positive coronavirus test

This all comes a time when Trump is seen asstruggling in his re-election race against Democrat Joe Biden.

Bidenhad a 51%-41% lead over Trump among adults who expect to vote, according toa Reuters/Ipsos poll released Sunday (and conducted Friday and Saturday). AnNBC News/Wall Street Journal poll also released Sunday gave Biden a lead of 14 percentage points. Thatsurvey was conducted after their contentious first debate, but before Trump went into the hospital.

During a four-minute video he tweeted out Saturday, Trump said he isis "starting to feel good"and is "doing well." and predicted he would return to the White House soon.

"I think I'll be back soon," Trump said. "And I look forward to finishing up the campaign, the way it was started."

Pitney, author of "Un-American: The Fake Patriotism of Donald J. Trump," said the upshot is no one can be sure how well the president is.

"Trump definitely has brief periods when he's well enough to sign blank pieces of paper or talk for a few minutes," Pitney said. "That's all we know for sure."

Conley said Sunday the bottom line is that the president is "doing really wellhe is responding."

He added: "If everything continues to go well, we'regoing to start discharge planning back to the White House."

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'Ups and downs': Doctors say Donald Trump is improving while hospitalized; aides project image of calm - USA TODAY