Seven Times US President Donald Trump Downplayed, Mocked, Coronavirus Before Testing Positive
Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, has contracted COVID-19 despite consistently downplaying the virus, which has claimed millions of lives worldwide.
In the US alone, more than 200,000 have died with 7 million infected.
Despite the staggering figures, Trump has consistently dismissed the need to wear nose masks in public, appearing in gatherings and rallies without them, challenging the head of his Coronavirus response team on scientific evidence around the virus and sharing fake news on his social media page.
This detailed list compiled by NPR shows a timeline of Trump’s negligent comments about the virus as it ravaged America.
January 22
The day that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed what it then thought was the first case of the Coronavirus in the United States, Trump told a CNBC reporter that the country had it "completely under control" and suggested that he was not concerned about a pandemic.
"We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine," he said.
February 27
During a February meeting with Black leaders, health officials warned that the Coronavirus pandemic might stay with the country for some time. Trump said a "miracle" might make the Coronavirus pandemic "disappear."
"It's going to disappear. One day — it's like a miracle — it will disappear," Trump said. "And from our shores, we — you know, it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We'll see what happens. Nobody really knows."
March 11
During an Oval Office address, Trump said that for "the vast majority of Americans, the risk is very, very low" — though he did warn that the "elderly population must be very, very careful." That same day, Dr Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House's Coronavirus task force, told members of Congress at a House hearing that "bottom line, it's going to get worse."
How much worse, Fauci said, would depend on the country's ability to contain the "influx of people who are infected" coming from other countries and "the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country."
April 3
When the CDC made its initial recommendation that people wear cloth or fabric face coverings, Trump said it was going to be "really, a voluntary thing" and emphasized that he would not do it.
"You can do it. You don't have to do it. I'm choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it, and that's OK. It may be good. Probably will. They're making a recommendation. It's only a recommendation," Trump said.
Trump — who stresses how often he and the people around him are tested — wore a mask in public for the first time in July, for a visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
May 19
Trump told reporters that he viewed the high number of U.S. cases of the Coronavirus as a "badge of honour" and a reflection of the country's testing capacity.
"When we have a lot of cases, I don't look at that as a bad thing," the President said. "I look at that in a certain respect as being a good thing, because it means our testing is much better. So, if we were testing a million people instead of 14 million people, we would have far few cases, right?
"So, I view it as a badge of honour. Really, it's a badge of honour," he added. "It's a great tribute to the testing and all of the work that a lot of professionals have done."
Days later, the U.S. recorded 100,000 known deaths from COVID-19.
July 19
During an interview with Fox News Sunday, the President seemed to suggest that some people without serious symptoms were being tested and confirmed as positives and added to the total number of infections.
"Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day," Trump said. "They have the sniffles, and we put it down as a test." He added that many of those sick "are going to get better very quickly."
At the time of Trump's interview, more than 3.7 million Coronavirus cases had been confirmed in the United States, and more than 140,000 Americans had died.
September 21
During a campaign speech in Swanton, Ohio, Trump claimed without evidence that the Coronavirus "affects virtually nobody," downplaying the risk of the extent of the pandemic and the danger that it poses to individuals.
In that campaign speech, he suggested that the virus is dangerous only to older people with heart problems and preexisting conditions, sentiments that go against the guidance of most public health experts.
"It affects elderly people, elderly people with heart problems, if they have other problems, that's what it really affects, that's it. In some states, thousands of people — nobody young — below the age of 18, like nobody — they have a strong immune system — who knows?" Trump said.
"Take your hat off to the young because they have a hell of an immune system. It affects virtually nobody," he added. "It's an amazing thing — by the way, open your schools!"
PUBLIC HEALTH United States of America News AddThis : Original Author : SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements :
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