The president of the United States, Donald Trump, defended this Tuesday that he did not minimize the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic in the North American country and that, instead, he “reinforced” it.
Trump has faced criticism for his handling of COVID-19 since journalist Bob Woodward revealed a series of recordings in which the president acknowledged “downplaying” the pandemic in March this year.
The journalist tells in his new book, entitled ‘Rage’ (‘Rabies’), that the president knew the dangerousness of the virus, that it was highly contagious, that it was more “deadly than even a very strong flu” and that, despite this, he repeatedly downplayed it publicly.
According to the president, “he always” wanted to “downplay” the pandemic because, in his opinion, the job of a president is “to keep the United States safe” and, also in March, he pointed out that he “still” liked to minimize the threat because it was not intended to “create panic.”
However, this Tuesday, Trump has affirmed that he did not minimize the pandemic. “Well, I did not minimize it,” Trump has settled during an event on ABC News with voters who have not yet decided who to support in the US elections, scheduled for November 3.
“In fact, in many ways, I reinforced it, in terms of performance. My performance was very tough,” he assured, exemplifying his words with the travel ban issued by the United States against China and Europe in February and March.
The president has thus defended his response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. “We did a very, very good job when we issued that ban,” he continued. “Whether you call it talent or luck, it was very important because we saved many lives when we did it,” he concluded.
After Woodward’s information was made public, Trump defended his management of COVID-19 in the United States and insisted that a sense of panic cannot be displayed. “” I love our country. And I don’t want people to be scared. I don’t want to create panic, “he said.
The United States is the country hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the world. So far, it has confirmed 6,537,627, 34,597 in the last 24 hours, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronym in English). Deaths from the disease reach 194,092, 387 of them verified during this day.
