Rat scurries behind Donald Trump during coronavirus briefing in the Rose Garden

There really is a White House RAT! Rodent scurries behind Donald Trump during coronavirus briefing in the Rose Garden – but manages to escape being photographed

• A rat ran behind President Donald Trump twice during his press briefing
• It moved took quickly for photographers to capture
• President Trump did not appear to notice the creature
• Rat dashed along one of the steps of the colonnade, in and out of the bushes that line the walkway outside the Oval Office  
• It appeared fat and healthy and uninterested in the press conference 
• Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID

By Emily Goodin, Senior U.s. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: 00:56 BST, 16 April 2020 | Updated: 14:25 BST, 16 April 2020

A rat ran behind President Donald Trump twice during his press briefing on Wednesday but the rodent moved too quickly for photographers to capture his cameo appearance in the Rose Garden. 

President Trump didn’t appear to notice the rat as he had his back to the creature.  But reporters in the White House Rose Garden had a prime view of it as it dashed along one of the steps of the colonnade, in and out of the bushes that line the walkway outside the Oval Office.

It appeared the first time when Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was reassuring Americans the the country’s food supply could met demand and they should be alarmed at the sight of empty grocery shelves.

It appeared again as the president was taking questions from the press about the nation’s response to the coronavirus. 

A rat ran behind President Donald Trump twice during his press briefing on Wednesday but the rodent moved too quickly for photographers to capture

The rat ran twice along the steps of the colonnade, behind the president, in and out of the bushes that line the walkway outside the Oval Office

The rat appeared fat and healthy and completely uninterested in the news conference going on around it.  

There have been reports that rats have been affected by the coronavirus too. Many restaurants have closed, which serve as a main source of food for the creatures, leaving them starving. 

The rats are in survival mode, one expert said, and will eat each other if they have no other source of food.

‘They’re mammals just like you and I, and so when you’re really, really hungry, you’re not going to act the same — you’re going to act very bad, usually,’ Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist, told NBC News. ‘So these rats are fighting with one another, now the adults are killing the young in the nest and cannibalizing the pups.’ 

The White House has long had a vermin problem. 

And Washington D.C. sits in the top five of U.S. cities for rat infestation. 

In October of last year, a mouse fell through the ceiling of the press area and into the lap of NBC News’ Peter Alexander. 

Outside the building are several black box rat stations to capture the vermin, which are a frequent sight in Washington D.C.

In 2017, the administration submitted pest requests to the General Services Administration (GSA), which helps manage maintenance needs of the White House, referring to mice and roaches running around the complex.  

Other creatures have popped up at Rose Garden events: A black squirrel ran behind then-President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a March 2016 press conference 

The White House has long had a vermin problem: a dead mouse was spotted outside the press room in September 2019

There are large black rat traps placed around the White House and on the grounds

Other creatures have popped up at Rose Garden events. A black squirrel ran behind then-President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a March 2016 press conference.

The Trump administration is not the only presidential inhabitants to fight off rats.

In 1990, first lady Barbara Bush told the Huffington Post about a rat that ended up in the White House pool with her while she did her laps. 

‘It did not look like a Walt Disney rat, I’ll tell you that,’ she said. ‘I was out of that pool so much faster than I thought I could.’

‘I swim with a mask, and it just went right by in front of me,’ she noted. ‘Fortunately, George Bush was there and drowned the beast. It was horrible.’

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