Trump, Pope Plead for 10-month-old Charlie, as Doctors Prepare to Put Terminally-ill Baby to Death

US President Donald Trump has offered to help the family of terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard, as an American doctor and hospital said it could treat the 10-month-old boy for free.
Trump offered his support to Chris Gard, 32, and Connie Yates, 31, as doctors prepare to turn off Charlie’s life support.
The US President tweeted: “If we can help little Charlie Gard, as per our friends in the UK and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so.”
Mr Gard and Miss Yates are spending the last days of their son’s life with him, after being given more time before his life support is turned off.
The couple, from Bedfont, west London, raised £1.3 million so they could take their son to get treatment in the US, but were told by three UK courts they were not allowed.
In a final blow, the European Court of Human Rights said last month that Charlie’s life support would be turned off and they could not take him to America.
The president’s tweet, which had 4,000 retweets and 12,000 likes within 20 minutes of being posted at 3pm, comes after Pope Francis called for the parents of the baby to be allowed to “accompany and treat their child until the end”.
The Vatican said the pope “is following with affection and sadness the case of little Charlie Gard and expresses his closeness to his parents. For this he prays that their wish to accompany and treat their child until the end is not neglected”.
A White House spokesman said: “Upon learning of baby Charlie Gard’s situation, President Trump has offered to help the family in this heartbreaking situation.
“Although, the President himself has not spoken to the family, he does not want to pressure them in any way, members of the administration have spoken to the family in calls facilitated by the British government.
“The President is just trying to be helpful if at all possible. Due to legal issues, we can not confirm the name of doctor or hospital where the baby could be treated in the United States.”
Charlie, who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage, is being cared for at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London.
The little boy has been at the centre of a lengthy legal battle between his parents, who wanted him to undergo a therapy trial in the US, and specialists at the hospital who said the treatment was experimental and would not help.
On Friday a picture of the couple sleeping on either side of their son in hospital was posted on their Twitter account alongside the hashtags #jesuisCharlieGard #charliesfight #letcharliegohome.

The couple released an emotional video a day earlier saying they had been told Charlie would die on Friday.
They said they had been denied their final wish to be able to take their son home to die and felt “let down” after losing their legal fight.
The hospital later confirmed it was “putting plans in place for his care”.
Charlie’s plight has touched many people and the family received donations totalling more than £1.3 million to take him to the US for therapy.
Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life issued a statement saying: “Dear Charlie, dear parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates, we are praying for you and with you.”
Campaigners have pledged their support to the family on social media using hashtags and blue heart emoticons.
Charlie’s parents, both in their 30s and from Bedfont, West London, had asked European court judges in Strasbourg, France, to consider their case.
This comes after judges in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in London ruled in favour of GOSH doctors.
But, last week the European Court of Human Rights refused to intervene.
Yesterday, campaigners carrying a banner that said “It’s Murder” gathered outside Buckingham Palace to protest against the court’s decision.